The National Assembly during a past session.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ulahas warned MPs to stop pocketing night-out allowances for their bodyguards and drivers.
Mr Wetangula said this attitude soils lawmakers’ names and that of parliament.
At a recently concluded National Assembly leadership retreat in Naivasha, Speaker Wetang’ula was categorical that ‘stealing’ money meant for the bodyguards and drivers is bad manners for a person who earns more than a million shillings in monthly salaries and allowances.
“You can imagine if your bodyguard calls you a thief and says you stole his money for five years,” said Mr Wetang’ula.
Speaker Wetang’ula chairs the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) which is in charge of the welfare of MPs and the parliamentary staff.
Each driver and bodyguard assigned to an MP is entitled to a flat rate of Sh4,200 in night-out allowance, specifically when an MP is visiting their constituencies during the weekend or an official parliamentary function.
However, the allowance was suspended in June this year following complaints of mismanagement from the bodyguards and drivers as they pointed accusing fingers at their bosses, the MPs.
“From what I have found out, a majority of the MPs do not want to touch that money and I will advise you not to for the simple reason that it will create you problems along the way,” Mr Wetang’ula warned the MPs.
The Speaker spoke as MPs Wamboka Wanami (Bumula) and Mark Mwenje (Embakasi West) told their colleagues that it was a wise idea not to be involved in the monies meant for their drivers and bodyguards.
The matter came up after Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a, in her second term, sought a clarification from the Speaker over who was going to foot the bills of the drivers and bodyguards, who had accompanied the MPs to Naivasha.
The matter aroused interest among the legislators as it immediately became an agenda item for debate during the meeting.
During the retreat, Speaker Wetang’ula revealed to the MPs that the drivers and bodyguards wrote to the PSC demanding that the monies be paid to them directly instead of going through the MPs.
The Speaker told the MPs that “we have some little money paid to them so that every weekend you go home they are responsible for their own place to sleep or to eat if he doesn’t eat in your house from small money given from Parliament.”
“You go to Mombasa, there will be some night out allowance to the driver and bodyguard so that we don’t tax your pocket,” the Speaker said.
But according to the Speaker, some legislators including members of the commission argue that this money should be given to them to give to the bodyguards.
“Those bodyguards came together and wrote to the commission saying that if my boss gets that money, I will never see it,” Speaker Wetang’ula noted.
At this point, Mr Wamboka said; “in terms of who gets the money, I want to plead with you, please don’t touch that money.”
“Let the Clerk give the money directly to them because it is giving us a bad name,” the Bumula MP said.
He continued; “take time and talk to the bodyguards, they have classified us.”
“I have never seen that money, I don’t get involved. Avoid it so that they don’t ask us for money when we travel,” he added.
Mr Mwenje told his colleagues that he was a subject of social media troll after one of his bodyguards committed suicide with claims that he had ‘eaten’ money meant for him.
Nevertheless, Speaker Wetang’ula revealed that the commission that he chairs will be issuing directions noting that the PSC will harmonise the security detail allocated to MPs after it emerged that some MPs have up to five security officers while others have one.
Mr Wamboka argued that the security officers allocated to the MPs should be dependent on the security situation of an MP.
“Whether an MP has two or three security officers, it depends on their security reasons,” said Mr Wamboka.
