Advertisement

Why not do the right thing, dissolve the House of Shame and send the MPs home?

Tuesday August 21 2018
bunge

Kenyan Members of Parliament during a session when sugar was discussed. PHOTO | NMG

By TEE NGUGI

To shoot down a parliamentary report on the mass sugar poisoning, honourable (giggle!) MPs took bribes of Ksh10,000 each. That’s $100.

Speaker Justin Muturi, a man not known for upholding high standards of conduct in the august (giggle!) House, has even invited the police and the anti-corruption agency to probe these claims.

Should the claims be verified, then the 12th parliament, from a moral and constitutional standpoint, will have failed, and should be dissolved with immediate effect if we are to salvage a modicum of national dignity.

Parliament, in constitutional democracies, is mandated to check the excesses of the executive, exercise oversight on how public money is spent, define national values and goals, protect national strategic interests, shape foreign policy, and generally craft laws and policies to help a country attain its economic, political, social and strategic aspirations.

From this perspective, parliament is not only the protector of the public good; it is also the conscience of the nation, and key driver and shaper of nationhood and socio-economic development.

Given this critical role, it goes without saying that MPs are expected to be the finest a nation can offer. They should be people of the highest possible integrity, ready to give up livelihoods and life itself in defence of the Constitution. They must be among the best educated and the most intelligent in society.

Advertisement

But in Kenya, we have, like with everything else, corrupted the concept of parliament and contaminated the idea of who an MP should be.

Thus, it is quite common to find in our parliament thugs, corruption kingpins, hatemongers, foreskin theorists, sexists, and men and women of questionable education and/or intelligence.

In other jurisdictions, listening to debates in parliament can be an exhilarating intellectual experience.

There are references to constitutional theory or to oral tradition or Western philosophy, quotes from literature and film, or from biographies of highly accomplished people. In these regions, politicians have reading lists, always eager to expand their knowledge. Barack Obama, as president and even now, always has a reading list that he shares with journalists.

It is an eclectic list, not limited to books by Americans or a particular genre. On his recent visit to Kenya, for instance, among the books he was reading was A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

In his speech during the Mandela centenary anniversary, the man’s expansive and scholarly mind was on full display. Those who listened to the speech came away wiser and freshly inspired.

To listen to debates in Kenya’s parliament is to lose the will to live. Many members have a hesitant grasp of English or Kiswahili. I always wonder why they don’t just speak in their mother tongue and make use of an interpreter. Others never utter a word (thank God), only making technical appearances to avoid losing their lucrative seats.

There were instances in Kenya’s parliamentary history when debates were lively and intelligent; the days of Martha Karua, Chelagat Mutai, James Orengo, Koigi Wamwere, Pio Gama Pinto, Tom Mboya, and so on. Then, parliamentary caucuses were formed on the basis of policy or ideology.

Today, caucuses are tribal groupings whose aim is to push the agenda as formulated by the leader of their tribal party or coalition.

There is a type of speech at which our MPs excel. It is not intellectually taxing, as its one aim is to mobilise tribal support. It is delivered at funerals, at ego-stroking “homecoming parties,” or at campaign rallies.

Code words and references are employed to profile ethnic communities. Fingers are wagged angrily, and threats issued against unnamed people. Claims of persecution of communities are made. It is coded war-mongering.

The speech varies little in content and form, whether in Kiambu or Bungoma. Were the speech to be analysed for facts, inspirational moments, ideological argumentation, policy enunciation, and for dignified educated delivery, it would score zero.

So perhaps we should not be shocked that this calibre of men and women can line up for bribes in a matter that has existential implications for the country.

Tee Ngugi is a political and social commentator based in Nairobi

Advertisement