On Tuesday, November 20, 2018, a National Assembly committee on Powers and Privileges said Members of Parliament may have been bribed to reject a report on the importation of illegal and contaminated sugar into Kenya.
The committee told the House that the evidence before it pointed to possible impropriety, even though it did not identify any MP as having received money. It said none of the 15 witnesses who testified produced direct evidence of seeing colleagues receive bribes or pay others to defeat 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. Based on the oral submissions by the witnesses, it is apparent that some members may have been involved in some forms of impropriety,” reads the report.
The committee also called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to examine the allegations. Its findings followed claims raised around the National Assembly proceedings of August 9, when Didmas Barasa of Kimilili said he had seen envelopes and money being exchanged in the chamber.
According to the report, a review of footage by the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit (PBU) did not show any exchange of envelopes or cash in the chamber. The committee added that the CCTV cameras did not cover the members’ dining lounges in the new wing or the toilets, which were also mentioned in the bribery claims.
Among the lawmakers who appeared before the committee were Didmas Barasa of Kimilili, James K’Oyoo of Muhoroni, Jane Kihara of Naivasha, nominated MP Geoffrey Osotsi, Simba Arati of Dagoretti North, John Waluke of Sirisia, Wajir Woman Representative Fatuma Gedi, Geoffrey Odanga of Matayos and Rehab Mukami of Nyeri.
Ms Gedi was specifically named by Mr Barasa as the person allegedly bribing members to reject the report. She denied the allegation.
The committee’s report did not say the bribery claims had been proven, but it said the circumstances raised enough concern to warrant investigation by the anti-graft agencies.
