Opposition honcho Raila Odinga has told MPs they must respect constitutional institutions and commissions.
“Why does Parliament think that it is above the Constitution? Why should they set their salaries, which is the work of the Salaries Review Commission?” he asked.
He added: “Parliament is setting a very bad example for the people of this country. I want to plead with MPs who are here to go tell their colleagues out there that Kenyans are watching.”
He warned MPs that history would judge them harshly if they became accomplices in economic crimes currently under active investigations by various Government agencies.
He opined that Parliament had no investigative powers and advised legislators to leave the sugar issue to investigative agencies.
“Parliament has no investigative powers. You call people and shout at them to be seen on television that you are working. You are not doing anything useful to this country. You only want to be seen that you grilled so and so.”
The Opposition leader said institutions fighting corruption had gotten their oomph back and were working, adding that Kenyans should support them.
He accused the lawmakers of protecting corrupt individuals and cartels
“The MPs must handle corruption issues with care or they will find themselves on the wrong side of history. We don’t want a situation where you send a hungry dog to go catch a man with meat. They will take the meat and leave the thief to get away with goods.”
The former premier defended his handshake with President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying he had no regrets because the peace pact had brought stability in the country.
“Our handshake has had a multiplier effect across the world. Soon after we met with President Kenyatta, we saw what happened between arch rivals South and North Korea. We also saw what Trump did,” said Raila.
Raila said the 14-member committee appointed to spearhead the ‘Building Bridges’ initiative was working well and would soon convene a conference to discuss corruption, among other issues.
“Everything is going on well. Members of the committee are working in secret and will soon hold the conference.”
He was speaking at the burial of demised Migori Senator Ben Oluoch Okello.
