• MP David Sankok went to an extent of referring to the August House as “Nyumba wa mwezi wa nane”.
Just how deep is the love-hate relationship between governors and their respective senators?
Last week during the sitting of Senate's Special Committee on Management Equipment Scheme, Kenya Medical Supplies Agency CEO Jonah Manjati found himself on the firing end after alluding that governors and senators enjoy a cordial relationship.
He said, “Like you (senators) are good friends with your governors.” The remark was loudly protested by Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula and his Isiolo counterpart Fatuma Dullo.
Wetang’ula - from nowhere - shouted 'not really', cutting short the CEO midway. This was followed by demands by Dullo that the Kemra boss goes on record and explains what he meant by 'good friends'. Dullo chairs the ad-hoc committee and is deputised by Wetang’ula.
Kiswahili seems to pose a great to many lawmakers, if events of the launch of translated Standing Orders are something to go by.
During the debate, which had to be done in Swahili, many of them really struggled. Led by Speaker Justin Muturi, a number of lawmakers left members in stitches as they attempted to give meaning to some of the words used in House business and how the same applies in Kiswahili.
Suba South MP and Minority leader John Mbadi could not crack it at all. He even joked that he’d return a Swahili dictionary he was handed to master the language, as the same was written in the same language he fears.
Other members such as nominated MP David Sankok went to an extent of referring to the August House as “Nyumba wa mwezi wa nane”.
This extended to the committee's open day when the visiting Tanzanian speaker wowed them to take Kiswahili as simple as it is. With the push for some sittings to be held purely in Swahili, one wonders whether the House will ever attain a quorum.
Lugari MP Ayub Savula ran into trouble on Friday after he sought to table a document detailing air accidents that have happened in the country.
The MP came under fire by his colleagues who demanded explanations into how he got the document, yet the persons who were to present the same did not turn up.
Some lawmakers at the committee on Transport took a swipe at their counterpart, saying they suspected the documents’ source. They even accused him of moonlighting for the airline under investigations for rampant accidents.
Things went south after he referred to first time members as unaware of the procedure, only for him to be ruled to be the one out of order having failed to table the document properly.
The lawmaker later attempted to suggest the document was from a journalist. He was asked to present the document under his letterhead to make it authentic.