Kenya’s Constitution demands that State officers must behave in a manner that dignifies and protects the integrity of their offices. Article 10 as well as Chapter Six of the Supreme law espouse that spirit clearly.

The provisions were calculated to ensure the right people are either appointed or elected to public office as well as shield the institutions they lead from abuse.

That is why we are concerned about a video circulating depicting a senior member of the National Assembly leadership boasting on how he has used his office for self-enrichment and aggrandise.

In the video, the MP narrated to a gathering that had attended a rally how he had used his office to make money from some unnamed individuals seeking services in the National Assembly as well as from his own colleagues in Parliament.

The video goes on to capture the MP, who is on record boasting how close he is to President William Ruto, confessing how he forces his colleagues seeking to travel out of the country on official matters, to part with “something small” before he can authorise the trip.

This is not the first time the legislator has been captured making such distasteful remarks.

Few months ago, the MP was captured on tape admitting to have used crooked and unethical methods, including bribery to pass a controversial Bill. The MP’s outbursts, if true, clearly degrade the integrity and ethical requirements governing the conduct of State officers as laid out under Chapter Six of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012.

For a country whose President has vowed zero tolerance on corruption and ethical governance, such outbursts by the MP, a ranking member of the governing party, send wrong signals to the citizens, visitors and investors.

Allowing such behaviour to be repeated without consequence sends a message that it is acceptable. Psychologists have long held the notion that leaders are responsible for creating the environment that allows healthy behaviour to flourish.

It our hope that the decision by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to summon the lawmaker over his remarks is not the traditional lip-service and knee jerk reactions.