The political differences between lawmakers allied to President Uhuru Kenyatta and those backing deputy president William Ruto played out in Parliament on Tuesday  evening during debate of a report on insecurity in Marsabit County.

The departmental committee on National Security tabled the report that elicited emotions in the house.

MPs allied to the Kieleweke wing ganged up to throw out the report after Saku MP Dida Raso who had petitioned the committee to investigate the perennial conflicts in the area proposed amendments to the report on grounds that he was not satisfied with the recommendations of the committee chaired by Limuru MP Peter Mwathi.

Division

During the session, the Kieleweke lawmakers led by Wajir County Woman MP Fatuma Gedi forced a division that saw 74 MPs rejecting the report compared to 64 MPs who supported it.

Last Thursday, the pro-Ruto MPs led by Raso had succeeded in passing the amendments through acclamation.

Come Tuesday and the differences between the two political groupings started after leader of Minority John Mbadi proposed that voting on the report be differed to a later date until issues raised by members are addressed.

 Mbadi sought to know whether it was procedural for Raso who had petitioned the committee to introduce amendments to the report.

“I request that you defer putting the question on the motion to this report as we seek further consultations,” said Mbadi.

 He argued that the move by Raso amounts to re-writing the report by the same member who had petitioned it.

 “Mr Raso is mentioned in the report a number of times. It will be irresponsible of the House to allow the member to bring amendments,” stated the Suba South MP.

 Homa Bay county women representative  Gladys Wanga echoed Mbadi’s sentiments saying there was need to have the matter differed in order to cool members’ temperatures who had resulted in name calling.

 “Mr Speaker I would plead with you that we defer this meeting so that we can cool temperatures in these chambers.

I was shocked to see some of my friends here losing their cool because of this report,” she said.

 But Garissa Township MP Aden Duale objected to the request by the duo saying it was the speaker who approved Raso’s amendments before the House adopted them.

 “Why should we postpone putting the question?” wondered Duale. “Where the interest to postpone this report is coming from I don’t know,” said Duale.

 Voting on the Bill continued after Speaker Justin Muturi told the House that if he could only defer the matter for one day only. Muturi ruled that Raso’s amendments were in no way controversial and thus allowed them to be passed by the house.

Great travesty

“The House having been moved by Hon Raso to consider his proposed amendments and having carried those amendments, it will be a greater travesty on the part of the Speaker to purport to overturn that decision by the House,” ruled Muturi.

 In its report, the committee had recommended that Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i investigates the issuance of IDs to illegal immigrants from Ethiopia in Marsabit and specifically Sololo and Sagante areas in Saku but Raso in the amendments successfully managed to have the said recommendation deleted from the report.