News 2005

MPs walk out on president was unfortunate

The behaviour of some Kanu Members of Parliament from Rift Valley province leaves a lot to be desired. Their conduct is not only wanting but at times also seems to be immature and not worthy of elected leaders in their respective communities. I say this because the act of walking out at the Koitalel Samoei’s ceremony was not only a sign of being disrespectful to the head of state but also to the legendary hero, the Nandi community and the entire country in general.

In the presence of President Mwai Kibaki and First Lady Lucy Kibaki, seven Kanu Rift Valley MPs walked out during last Wednesday’s centennial celebrations to mark the 100 years since the death of the legendary Nandi leader. The legislators’ walked out claiming they were denied a chance to address the crowd in attendance. Those lawmakers showed disregard to the president and to Koitalel - their action was not only egotistical but equally ignorant and childlike.

There is a compelling need for everyone, including the MPs, to give the head of state the respect the office deserves particularly when he graces an occasion. As members of parliament those seven individuals should have known better to have had the decency to respect the institution of the presidency and to the holder of the office. The president was cordially invited to the occasion - the head of state and the First Lady did not bulldoze themselves to that important observance.

In respect to the courageous and bold Koitalel Samoie, President Kibaki asked the Nandi community to identify, within two weeks a spot where (his) Government would construct an educational centre and national museum in honour of the heroic freedom fighter. President Kibaki also promised the Nandi community that the NARC government will conduct investigations on the mysterious death of the freedom fighter hero as he noted: “The government will initiate investigations into the whereabouts of the skull and personal effects of Koitalel. The government will then initiate their retrieval and preservation.”

We have since learnt that the family of the heroic Koitalel has for 40 years tried to have the previous KANU government honour their illustrious Laibon but in vain. The president asked the community to make aware to the government the site where the Laibon was killed in order for the spot to be gazetted. In addition, the president noted that the location will be taken care of by the government. Instead of the local leaders joining the family of the Nandi hero to embrace and rejoice the presidents’ orders of honouring their celebrated son, they were not even present. What kind of leaders are these?

The Baringo Central MP Gideon Moi who led the walkout and or the boycott should have been the last person to do so. It is important for him to take note because when his father, former president Daniel arap Moi was in office, Kenyans gave arap Moi the respect deserving of a head of state.

To even think that Kibaki was campaigning for the 'Yes' vote at the ceremony for the impending referendum, thus walking out to disrupt the function, is absurd. What Kibaki promised to do for the legacy of Koitalel should have been done long time ago by the previous regime but evidently it wasn’t.

When the president announced the split of Nakuru district into four separate administrative districts, the same group of MPs from the province complained that they were not consulted. Their argument was that with Nakuru as provincial headquarters, they have a stake of whatever happens to the city. The president was giving Rift Valley three extra districts - not taking away some of the widely known political districts created by the previous regime. How does one complain when their own people are the ones supposedly to reap the benefits?

When former president Moi used to create districts “secretly” and selectively, no MP ever complained or demanded they needed to be consulted. Some of the districts Moi created (suspiciously), majority of them in Rift Valley, were not announced publicly. In the case of Nakuru, Kibaki had the civility to publicly announce the good news when he was in the area. The whole idea is to truly bring government services closer to the people and not as political expediency as has been the case before.

It was yet another Rift Valley lawmaker the Belgut MP (one of the seven who walked out) who wanted to bring a private member’s Bill that sought to grant parliament autonomy to run its own calendar. Great. But the lawmaker sneaked in provisions for ousting the president through a vote of no confidence that Charles Keter “dishonestly” failed to disclose when he moved the motion. Under the proposed Bill, Parliament would have remained in place even after the president is sent home (by less than 200 MPs), thus cushioning MPs from re-elections.

The bold message this week goes to a section of Kanu MPs from Rift Valley province - they ought to act as true leaders of their respective constituencies despite seeing themselves as back-benchers. They should stop acting as disgruntled lawmakers simply because Kanu is not in power, in doing so, they are failing their voters. As for Gideon Moi he ought to know that in politics, leadership needs to be cultivated, and one first needs to crawl before he or she starts to walk and then be able to run.

omarahmedali@gmail.com

http://www.timesnews.co.ke/23oct05/editorials/bscripts.html

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