MPs accuse Interior CS Matiang’i of contempt
Mercy Mwai @wangumarci
The Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi yesterday ordered the Leader of Majority Amos Kimunya to convene a meeting with Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and the Committee on National Security and Administration next week.
Muturi’s directive followed MPs’ complaints that the Ministry was acting in contempt of the House.
Muturi asked Kimunya to ensure the meeting, which will be attended by top leadership of the House, comes up with solutions on how the committee will in future interact with the ministry.
Demeaning language
Muturi said it is important that there be cordial relations between the security committee and the Ministry as many questions raised by members are about security issues.
“If committee members are the ones expressing frustrations, then this matter is serious and that is why I am directing that the meeting takes place under the leadership of the Leader of Majority,” said Muturi.
The directive came after members of the committee including Makali Mulu (Kitui Central), Peter Kaluma (Homa Bay Town) Rosa Buyu (Kisumu Women Rep) and Edward Kaunya (Teso North) said that since they joined the committee, Matiang’i had only appeared before them three times while his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho only appears during the budget-making process.
The protest came after the committee’s vice chairperson, Wajir Woman Rep Fatuma Gedi, read responses to questions raised on the floor of the House, which members dismissed as unsatisfactory and demeaning in tone and language.
Makali revealed that members boycotted a virtual meeting with Kibicho on Tuesday, claiming the ministry was not taking members seriously.
He further accused some powerful people in the ministry of meddling in the work of Parliament, including in the budget-making process.
“I want to go on record that it is not a quorum that we lacked. We boycotted the meeting.
There is no way that the committee can allocate Sh1 billion to the prisons department and then all this is negated by just a phone call.
This is wrong. This ministry has not been respecting us. For the last three years I have been a member, the CS has only appeared three times while the PS only shows up during the budget making process,” he said.
Buyu said it was about time the House called out the ministry which she accused of ignoring members’ questions.
“It is high time the whole House takes up the matter of the Interior CS and deals with it,” she said.
Kaluma claimed the House had overprotected the ministry thus making both the CS and PS act superior.
