On paper, the Standing Orders demand that every Member of Parliament upholds dignified and orderly conduct with integrity as the fulcrum. The Hansard etches in stone some of the most noble debates and a variety of committee reports, undergirding Kenya’s democracy.But in the shadows of the same hallowed building where legislators sit, past and present members themselves have called it something else – a House of deals where money matters a bit more than the welfare of the constituents they represent. Multiple interviews by the Nation revealed an entrenched vice and a shadowy system that facilitates it.President William Ruto has in recent days blown off the lid to reveal what he alleges is systemic corruption in Parliament. It has never been conclusively proven, and the few attempts to prove bribery in the National Assembly or Senate have often sanitised the accused, even when the most absurd of decisions were made against the public interest.Critics say getting a “yes” or “no” from MPs is simplified to offering the right amount, although with a disclaimer that there are many good men and women who have used their positions in Parliament to better the lives of Kenyans.Read: Mr President, expose the corrupt MPsPresident Ruto’s plea to MPs at the 12th Devolution Conference in Homa Bay, to stop demanding bribes from individuals that appear before them, has drawn attention to a way of life that has, in successive parliaments, become accepted as the norm, barely ever attracting much legal consequences. While the President’s statements have attracted varying responses from lawmakers, the number of admissions from legislators or former MPs reacting to the vice points to a cancer that risks taking the voice of people in favour of minting millionaires in Parliament.Former Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito told the Nation that it takes two to tango, urging the President to clean up his own backyard first as some of the alleged bribery incidents can be traced back to State House.Reminiscing on his time in Parliament during the Grand Coalition government from 2008 and Jubilee Party era that started in 2013, Mr Kizito said whenever the Executive intends to pass a Bill, or sway a particular motion, it sends people to pay off MPs for a “favourable” decision.House businessThe former MP added that in his time, money would be passed from agents of the Executive, to whips – political enforcers inside Parliament tasked with ensuring order is maintained as legislators go about House business – along with instructions on how to vote or where to stand on an issue. “When the Executive wants to pass their bills, they bring money and it passes through the whips. We would hear things like ‘pesa iko mupige kura’ (there is money, make sure you vote) during such times. If they know you are likely to bolt, they would call you privately and offer you more money,” Mr Kizito said.Mr Kizito holds that the vice the President alluded to is not unique to the Kenya Kwanza regime, as it was also rampant in the Jubilee Party and Grand Coalition eras.Read: Stop demanding bribes, Ruto tells MPsThe former MP recounted how some MPs in committees that he sat in would go to State corporation bosses and solicit for bribes while claiming the money had been demanded by colleagues who were ready to publish “favourable” reports.National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has in the past said, on the floor of the House, that some committee members have been soliciting for money from State Corporation bosses who in turn flood his office with complaints.Mr Wetang’ula asked MPs to limit the number of welfare officers – MPs in committees appointed to act as go-betweens with institutions appearing before them – as that had become one of the conduits for bribery.A source at the National Assembly, whom we cannot identify for fear of backlash from his colleagues, said when there is a critical issue before a committee, the going price starts at Sh100,000 per ‘friendly’ member. However, this can go as high as Sh10 million or as low as Sh10,000, depending on the gravity of a matter.After a fee is agreed, our source added, the people (called witnesses in Parliamentary lingo) to appear before legislators are given questions in advance. They are also given a heads-up on the tough questions which must be asked, in an attempt to make the process appear legitimate.“For clients who cooperate, they are even allowed to set their own questions through set officers,” our anonymous source, an experienced hand in the National Assembly, said.The committees that are tasked with demanding accountability from various State institutions are some of the lucrative places that have been fingered in the past.Read: Extorting fat bribes from jobless youthMore premium is attached to the leadership of the committees. Prior to 2013, opposition leaders would chair these watchdog committees.In the events of such deals, chairpersons and their deputies receive a bigger share compared to other members. Another source said that it is normal to find CEOs and other leaders of State institutions summoned by the committees mobilising cash from their finance departments, to pay off MPs.Silvanus Osoro: We bribed Azimio MPs to skip Parliament during Finance Bill voteBut not all members are bribed, in cases where a simple majority is required to come up with a ‘good’ report. In such cases, a parliamentary officer is tasked with head-hunting members who will ensure a simple majority to tilt the scale.There are cases where committees have done majority and minority reports on the same subject when they disagree.Sometimes, that happens either because a few members felt, strongly, that the outcome is skewed because of external influence or because they just disagree in principal.Impeachment of governors has been another avenue that legislators have used to mint loads of cash.Sh110 millionIn one of the cases where a governor survived, the county boss allegedly mobilised in excess of Sh300 million to have the impeachment motion trashed. The side pushing for his ouster and led by a sitting senator had raised Sh110 million, a confidential source familiar with the intrigues told us.The governor had allegedly given county contractors a contribution target of Sh10 million each to help save him, after which he would ensure they recoup their investment from subsequent tenders after his return to office.Read: Ruto MPs bribery claim and questions over money for Bills in ParliamentThe Nation has established that when a Cabinet Secretary, a Principal Secretary or a parastatal head is threatened with removal from office, two lists are drawn- those against and those in support.“I remember one time I was brought two lists when they came up with cooked allegations to remove me from office but I told them off,” a former CS, who did not want to go on record in order to maintain good relations with legislators, said.However, senators Moses Kajwang' (Homa Bay), Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga) and Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami, dismissed the President’s corruption statement as far-fetched.“I disagree with the President’s insinuation of improper conduct on the part of Parliament. We do not audit; that’s done by the Auditor General. We do not investigate; that’s done by EACC and DCI,” Senator Kajwang’, who chairs the Senate County Public Accounts Committee, said.Mr Wanami, who chairs the Public Investments Committee (on Governance and Education) of the National Assembly, argued that Dr Ruto’s claim was far-fetched.Read: EACC list of shame: The usual suspects and some surprises in fresh surveyFormer AG Justin Muturi, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka and his Nairobi counterpart Edwin Sifuna challenged Dr Ruto to present a list of bribed MPs to the EACC.EACC spokesperson Stephen Karuga said the commission has not received formal complaints of bribery at either the National Assembly or the Senate over the years. He added that the EACC would investigate anyone, even MPs, if a complaint is filed with credible leads.“The challenge is that people make allegations, especially those that are political statements. But we do not discriminate. If we get a complaint on this (bribery in Parliament), then we shall investigate,” Mr Karuga said.Mr Muturi agreed that bribery dictates some aspects of policy making in Parliament, but accused the Executive of leading the vice.“Before the vote on the Finance Bill, 2024, you must have seen him (President Ruto) even threatening MPs while at a function in Narok to vote for the Finance Bill 2024 or face the music. That was corruption in itself,” said Mr Muturi.Mr Muturi added: “It is true. Even when I went for the second vetting (to be a Cabinet Secretary after re-assignment as Attorney General), some of the members tried to ask me for money but I refused and told them to decide whichever way.”After MPs controversially passed the Finance Bill, 2024 against expert advice, the result as multiple youth-led protests and hundreds of memoranda to the National Assembly from members of the public, which saw the allegations start afresh.Juja MP George Koimburi on June 23 last year – three days after the Bill was passed in the National Assembly— claimed each legislator that voted yes was paid Sh2 million, and that he had declined advances for similar payment and voting no.Then Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua denied the claim six days later. Mr Koimburi was forced to withdraw and apologise on the floor of the House when MPs resumed duty in July last year.jwanga@ke.nationmedia.com, bwasuna@ke.nationmedia.com
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