Members of Parliament have begun a quiet protest over delayed sitting and mileage allowances, with some skipping committee work and others seeing foreign trips pushed back.
The dispute has exposed tension inside Parliament over how lawmakers and staff are being facilitated to carry out official duties. Several committee sittings have reportedly been affected for about two months, with some MPs saying they have had to cover their own expenses.
National Assembly Minority Leader John Mbadi, the Suba South MP, was among those whose travel plans were affected. Sources in the House said his trip had been moved to February. When reached for comment, Mbadi declined to discuss the matter.
The issue became public after Endebess MP Robert Pukose raised it on the floor of the House. He said the Energy Committee had been hit hardest because members were avoiding sittings when allowances were not available.
“When we go for any committee retreat nowadays, we are not facilitated. Members are not given their sitting allowances,” he protested.
Pukose also warned that the Parliamentary Service Commission could face reconstitution if it failed to address MPs’ welfare.
“It is high time the Parliamentary Service Commission is given notice. If they are not up to the task of making sure that members are facilitated, then we will recall and replace them. Members are having many challenges,” he said.
National Assembly Clerk Michael Sialai rejected claims that Parliament was short of money. He said the institution had enough funds for planned activities, including committee operations, and insisted there were no pending travel or sitting allowances apart from claims submitted that week.
Sialai said any delay could be linked to Central Bank of Kenya guidelines requiring allowances to be paid through bank accounts rather than in cash. He added that pay advice slips for October sitting allowances had already been issued.
Despite that denial, some committee chairpersons said the problem was real and had discouraged attendance at sittings. One chairperson said reimbursement delays had become a major obstacle for members.
The same source said the difficulty had persisted for two months and had forced MPs to finance their own legislative work. The strain has also affected staff in the parliamentary secretariat, who have reportedly had to use personal funds while carrying out official duties away from Parliament Buildings.
