Bribery claims rock bid to unlock revenue sharing stalemate

New bribery claims have emerged against MPs, rekindling an investigation into similar accusations over a report on bad sugar that remains in limbo nearly two years later.

The stalemate on the county revenue formula, which senators have been unable to pass in nine attempts, has prompted claims that some governors who are opposed to the new cash plan are fuelling the resistance.

And State operatives reportedly also tried to sweeten the deal in an attempt to flip some senators and crush opposition to the government-sponsored formula.

Two senators are alleged to have been doing the bidding for the governors.

But one of them is said to have double-crossed his masters and faced retribution.

“One of them was lobbied by government operatives to support the proposed revenue-sharing formula, only to receive cash from some county chiefs so as to change his position,” a member of the Senate leadership who requested not to be named told the Nation.

Many accusations

The latest claims add to a string of accusations against members of the National Assembly and the Senate, and which are forgotten until another scandal erupts.

In November 2018, the powerful Powers and Privileges committee opened an investigation into bribery claims that rocked the National Assembly during consideration of the report on bad sugar.

Following the inquiry, the 14-member committee chaired by Speaker Justin Muturi concluded there was a basis for the allegations and invited the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the matter within 90 days of adoption of the report.

“There might have been bribery of Members of the National Assembly to reject the report on the importation of alleged illegal and contaminated sugar into the country,” the parliamentary report stated.

“Based on the oral submissions by the witnesses, it is apparent that some members may have been involved in some forms of impropriety,” added the report.

This is Sh10,000. Let’s defeat this thing.

The committee resolved “there was possible breach of privilege and breach of the Code of Conduct by some members in terms of Section 16 of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act, 2017, and also within the ambit of the criminal law”.

Some 15 MPs testified before the committee on events of the afternoon of August 9, 2018, prior to the adoption of the sugar report, when some MPs claimed bribes of between Sh10,000 and Sh20,000 were offered to members in an attempt to kill the report.

While testifying before the committee under oath, Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa accused Wajir Woman Representative Fatuma Gedi of attempting to bribe him with Sh10, 000.

Mr Barasa claimed Ms Gedi offered him an envelope with the cash in the National Assembly Chamber during a plenary sitting, telling him “Hii ni elfu kumi, tuangushe hii kitu” (This is Sh10,000, let’s defeat this thing).

But testifying under oath, too, Ms Gedi denied Barasa’s claim, stating she didn’t know him personally and that it was unfortunate he “could imagine that an honourable MP would be bribed with Sh10,000”.

“It was also impractical to have singly bribed members in the Chamber, including in the ablution facilities and lobbies at the same time as alleged,” the report quoted Ms Gedi as saying in her defence.

Overheard colleagues

Kiambu Woman Representative Gathoni Wamuchomba had testified that while inside ablution facilities, she had overheard female colleagues in various cubicles discussing how some MPs had been bribed by Ms Gedi with between Sh10,000 and Sh20,000.

Ms Gedi explained she voted against the report because recommendations seemed to sacrifice Cabinet secretaries instead of placing the responsibility on the Kenya Bureau of Standards and that the Joint Committee failed to expose cartels involved in the alleged illegal importation of sugar or to ascertain if the sugar was safe for human consumption.

Matayos MP Geoffrey Odanga also testified under oath that over lunch in Parliament’s restaurant, Kuresoi South MP Joseph Tonui had asked him to go inside the Members’ Lounge to collect Sh20,000 that was being dished out to some MPs to reject the report. 

But Mr Tonui, also submitting under oath, dismissed Mr Odanga’s testimony as false, adding he did not know Mr Odanga in person and was shocked he had mentioned him in his testimony.

The committee recommended that the DCI and the EACC investigate the allegations within 90 days.

Last week, DCI boss George Kinoti and EACC chief executive officer Twalib Mbarak did not respond to the Nation’s inquiries about the progress in the investigations.

Since then, bribery claims have swirled during consideration of controversial issues by both Houses. 

A senator from Central Kenya once recounted to the Nation the role he played to undermine an investigation into alleged illegal Sh1.5 billion compensation by the State for the Ruaraka land.

Report rejected

A report by the County Public Accounts and Investments committee on possible loss of funds through the acquisition of the land by the National Land Commission for use by two public schools (Ruaraka High School and Drive-in Primary School) was rejected by the House in November 2018.

Although 15 county delegations voted (against four) for the adoption of the report, which had adverse recommendations against a powerful Cabinet secretary and a Principal Secretary, it was killed because it failed to get the requisite support of at least 24 counties.

Prior to the vote, committee chairman Moses Kajwang had unsuccessfully tried to stop a secret vote, arguing that senators should decide on the report’s fate in the open.

“This report has faced various roadblocks. The best way to make sure and to assure the nation that senators acted in the best interest of the public is to have an open and transparent vote where delegations are called upon to vote, so that Kenyans know where they stand on this particular matter,” Mr Kajwang had said but he was overruled by the Deputy Speaker.

Halt debate

At one point, Speaker Ken Lusaka had to halt debate on the report to facilitate an investigation by the House Powers and Privileges committee into claims by a businessman that four committee members had solicited for Sh100 million during the investigation.

The committee later ruled that the allegations were not substantiated.

This year, an attempt by Nyali MP Mohamed Ali to initiate a motion to impeach Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia also collapsed spectacularly amid accusations of bribery.

Mr Ali had more than 90 MPs sign for the ouster motion but a majority withdrew at the 11^th hour and accused the MP of duping them into signing the petition for the removal from office of the CS. 

Some claimed they had been made to believe that they were signing for him an application for a loan from the parliamentary Sacco.

They accused their colleague of harbouring a sinister agenda against the CS. Mr Ali countered that they had been compromised.

The Speaker later threw out the motion, saying the MP did not table evidence to support claims of gross misconduct by the CS.

And in June this year, an 11-member committee chaired by Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala cleared Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru following her impeachment by the county assembly, a verdict that sparked more controversy.