This archive report was first published on 16 August 2019.
On August 16, 2019, the Kenyan Parliament's move to send 90 MPs as delegates for an international conference in Tennessee exposed hidden details about the 'honorable' members' lives.
According to sources, at least five MPs were barred from traveling to the US after failing to meet the multiple criteria set by the US government for denial of travel visas.
The MPs, alongside five parliamentary staff, were denied US visas last month when they sought to travel as part of the large Kenyan delegation attending the conference in Tennessee.
US authorities deny foreigners visas if they have sufficient information pointing to their involvement in drugs trade, links to extremist groups, or are beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime.
The affected MPs are from the National Assembly and the Senate, while the affected parliamentary employees were from the clerks' office and from the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).
Some of the affected individuals have spoken to their friends about their exclusion from traveling to the US.
A legislator from the Coast region told a senior parliamentary staff that the US authorities had linked him to extremist activities of outlawed groups terrorizing locals.
The US embassy in Nairobi states on its website that an applicant's current and/or past actions, such as drug or criminal activities, may render ineligible for a visa, but one can seek a review when visa application is denied.
Parliament through the National Assembly clerk Michael Sialai has denied that some MPs are on US radar for drugs and terrorism.
'The visa application is a personal matter and it is, therefore, difficult to know the grounds of denial,' said Mr Sialai.
