How crooked MPs stuff pockets with graft cash

By Geoffrey Mosoku and Wilfred Ayaga

Nairobi, Kenya: Members of Parliament sabotaged an informal meeting called to discuss allegations of corruption within their ranks – the most damning being questions-for-cash – which has raised integrity issues in the House.

The 11th Parliament has been rocked by bribery claims, as was its predecessor, and Thursday’s abortive meeting raised eyebrows about the MPs’ willingness to root out the vice within their ranks.

Curiously, Thursday’s kamukunji (informal sitting) convened to discuss the alleged misconduct, and at which whistleblowers were expected to substantiate their claims, was scuttled when members failed to turn up.

The meeting aborted for lack of quorum as only 30 MPs showed up against a minimum requirement of 70 in the 349-member chamber.

The development raised questions about whether the MPs, who had scoffed at Majority Leader Aden Duale and deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo for raising the red flag on graft, were keen to address the matter.

Sources reported that Midiwo was armed with a carton full of documents to prove his allegations that his colleagues have been using parliamentary institutions and procedures to ‘rent seek’.

Interviews by The Standard and remarks made by MPs in and out of the House showed disturbing trends where MPs use committee meetings investigating controversial issues to extort money.

Claims of cash-for-statements, Motions and Private Members’ Bills emerged. In previous Parliaments, question time offered opportunity for abuse as compromised members raised matters on behalf of interested groups.

Committee investigations, however, have presented lucrative opportunities for extortion. In particular, MPs see an opportunity to make a killing while investigating parastatals ‘that face audit queries’. CEOs of the corporations are asked to part with cash for favourable reports. Those who fail to play ball are threatened with adverse recommendations that may lead to their ouster.

The MPs are accused of seeking statements on the floor of the House, which are then referred to committees to create an avenue to cut deals.

Two committee chairs are even said to have private offices in ministries that correspond to the committees they chair.

All departmental committees are chaired by majority Jubilee MPs save for the two watchdog committees — Public Investment and Public Accounts — which are led by Orange MPs Adan Keynan and Ababu Namwamba respectively.

But MPs take a vote while authoring the verdict of an investigation hence most in some situations are compromised to unfairly alter the recommendations.

Members of one committee have been mentioned by MPs who claim some of them are sugar barons engaged in illegal importation of sugar.

The Departmental Committee on Transport has also been on the spot over a trip members made to China while investigating the controversial Standard Gauge Railway deal. The Maina Kamanda-led committee has since cleared the tender as clean while the Public Investment Committee (PIC) continues its probe on the same deal.

Earlier, six members of the same committee were accused of receiving $2,000 (about Sh170,000) as an incentive to attend the official launch of the SGR in Mombasa, an allegation Kamanda disputed.

More wrangles

Last week, MPs rejected a joint committee of Defence and Foreign Relations, and National Security and Administration on the September 21 Westgate Mall terrorist attack.

And Thursday, Suna East MP Junet Mohamed claimed the report was prepared in a Government ministry and only handed over to the two committees for tabling.

“It even had ‘unparliamentary’ language,” Mohammed said.

Currently, PIC and the Departmental Committee on Energy are embroiled in wrangles over whose mandate it is to investigate procurement deals at the Geothermal Development Company. Given the value of the investigations, it is said some MPs see an opportunity to make money.

Two weeks, ago Duale and Midiwo said they were ready to name colleagues who were using their positions for selfish gains.

Duale said he knew a committee chair who wanted to direct the clerk’s office to write to a ministry.

Midiwo had, in his contribution last week, termed the committees “dens of corruption” that the chairpersons used for “rent seeking”.

He had also claimed that the chairmen were using the committees to “reward” their friends, while punishing “non-co-operative” members.

“We are aware that some of the House committees have become dens of corruption. Soon we will name and shame them. Their chairpersons and some committee members have become shameless rent seekers,” Midiwo said.

And on Wednesday, the ODM MP added: “Last week, we were here and we talked about the same issues. The matter was even discussed in the House Business Committee. It is a fact that some committee members have turned the committees into rent seeking vehicles. I’m not a coward, Duale is a coward because he cannot stand by the things he said,” Midiwo charged.

Midiwo made the remarks after Duale denied casting any aspersions on his colleagues during the Wednesday morning TV interview.

Writing for The Sunday Standard recently, Kisumu Senator Anyang Nyong’o recounted his experience as the chairman of PIC in 1994-1996. “I remember one member of my committee being reported to have demanded some money from a CEO of a parastatal who was due to appear before us,” Prof Nyong’o wrote.

He recalled another incident in which an official told him he had been instructed to “give me something small” so that the committee could “go easy” on the CEO of a firm under probe.

“This conversation took place in the corridors of Parliament after the rise of the House at 6.30,” Prof Nyong’o recalled, but he resisted the attempts to bribe him.

Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso had called for the special meeting on Wednesday after Homa Bay Woman Representative Gladys Wanga demanded that Duale and Midiwo substantiate claims made on a local TV station that committees of the House were heavily involved in corruption.

Table evidence

Wanga asked Laboso to order Duale and Midiwo to table evidence that House committees had abdicated their oversight role and were now cash cows for members.

Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando said the two leaders had to take responsibility for their utterances. “If you are a leader, the position must also come with responsibility. The moment we allow such claims without evidence, we are raising doubts on the credibility of the House,” Kabando demanded.

William Cheptumo (Baringo North) termed the allegation’s “serious” and claimed that they had cast members in a bad light.