Corruption claims have rocked Parliament after a senator sensationally linked a commission to a possible Sh2 billion scam.
Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi, who chairs the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), was forced to issue a statement denying claims by Nyamira Senator Mong’are Okong’o linking PSC to a scheme to vary the cost of constructing a 26-storey building meant for MPs’ offices by Sh1 billion.
Mr Okong’o additionally claimed PSC was planning to buy land worth another Sh1 billion from one of the commissioners in what he said was a clear case of conflict of interest.
He said Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye had refused to approve the additional amount for the skyscraper, putting him at loggerheads with key PSC commissioners pushing for the inflation.
As a result, the senator claimed, a plot has been hatched to weaken Mr Nyegenye’s office as punishment for refusing to play ball.
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“This greed, which is part of the looting that is about to be perpetrated when the country is least watching because of the confusion that PSC has been pushing the Speaker of the Senate to approve the variation but he has refused... The PSC has now hatched a plot to dilute the office of Clerk of the Senate, who is the accounting officer of Parliament through an amendment to the law,” he said.
Figment of imagination
In his response, the Speaker termed the accusations “a figment of Mr Mong’are’s imagination” and said the senator stood the risk of legal action from any aggrieved commissioners.
“It is noteworthy that Senator Mong’are’s statement was made in circumstances that do not enjoy the protection of parliamentary privilege. The PSC and individual commissioners, therefore, reserve the right to take appropriate legal action against him,” the Speaker warned.
Members of PSC include senators Beth Mugo, Jimmy Angwenyi, David Musila, Sammy Leshore and Gladys Wanga.
Others are Regina Chengorok, Abdullahi Ali and Lorna Mumelo.
Mr Okong’o did not name the individual commissioners intending to sell land to PSC.
The Senate clerk, who is also the PSC secretary, declined to comment on the matter.
