Recently, we told you about a seasoned legislator who has been infuriating his colleagues with his habit of answering phone calls in the middle of meetings. It seems the honourable member has ignored his colleagues and has taken his rudeness gone a notch higher. Early this week, the man brought to a standstill - literally - proceedings of a committee meeting. For about five minutes, the man was on phone, canvassing loudly in his mother tongue. Attempts by the chairman to rein him in were futile as the legislator openly told him off, saying that he was "responding to an emergency in my county". The irked chairman later told his colleagues that he would petition the house leadership to remove the member from his committee.
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What really happens when a House committee invites a top government official to respond to tough questions raised by members, and the person happens to be a very close friend of the chair? Well, a committee of the Senate invited a ministry official to explain an inadequacy at his office and, as would be expected, senators gave him no breathing space. The committee chair played along but after the meeting ended, the two embraced each other and moved to one corner for a chat. The two could be seen sharing pleasantries and were together for one hour. One then wonders if the chair could really submit a damning, or even a fair report on the ministry to the House.
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Well, a senior government official gave his best defending his boss over a power project when they appeared before the Senate's Energy Committee - not knowing that some legislators already knew everything about the situation back at his rural home. After making submissions about how the government is committed to connecting all Kenyans with power, the official was asked what he had done for his village. One legislator reminded the official that charity begins at home. He pointed out that he knows the village where the official comes from, saying it is still in darkness yet one of its sons is busy connecting other areas to the national grid.
