CS Joseph ole Lenku's fall is also Parliament's shame

The idea of vetting appointees to public office as enshrined in the 2010 Constitution was to ensure high levels of fidelity to country and duty, eliminate corruption, ensure fairness and that those given public offices exhibit high levels of competence and finally, to ensure quality service is offered to the public.

Prior to embracing this concept, appointments in public service depended on political connections, closeness to those in power and membership to the right political party at the time. This practice compromised efficiency in the public and private sectors to a level where corruption became a by-word. Consequently, drafters of the new Constitution sought to fight this through the introduction of vetting as a means of ensuring competency.

Parliament is one of the constitutionally-recognised vetting institutions and has been instrumental in vetting Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and envoys, among others.

Taking stock today, could the country say vetting has helped put the right men and women in the right places in Public Service? A safe bet is that there has been no visible improvement, and this raises the fundamental issue of whether Parliament is a competent institution or merely rubber-stamps what the Executive has decided.

The sacking of Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku is an indictment a Parliament that does the bidding of the Executive. The sacking offers sobering lessons to Kenyans about the role of Parliament.

Granted, no human is perfect. But it was hoped that the MPs would quickly point out that Mr Lenku was seemingly out of depth with matters security. That was not to be. Instead, we saw a Parliament that has stuck with nauseating partisanship and a knack for melodrama.

The very same Parliament that gave Mr Lenku a clean bill of health later turned around to accuse him of ills that vetting should have eliminated. It is easy to declare Parliament the weakest link.

At all times, Parliament must not become an extension of the Executive; it should execute its mandate diligently.

And so as we apportion blame about rising insecurity on Mr Lenku and President Uhuru Kenyatta, that blame, a considerable portion of it, should go to Members of the 11th Parliament.