Report exposes ‘dumb’ MPs

Alex Kosgei (MP Emgwen)

 Mathare MP Steven Kariuki is among three other MPs who are yet to make their maiden speech in the House since they were elected close to two years ago. According to an audit released by Mzalendo.com, Emgwen MP Alex Kosgey and Janet Teiyaa who was nominated to represent the disabled are yet to contribute on the floor of the House.

Kariuki joined the National Assembly following a by-election in August last year after he successfully petitioned the election of TNA rival George Wanjohi in the March 2013 General Election.

Kosgey won the seat in the last General Election on a URP ticket. He almost lost his seat in August last year when a group of residents from his constituency petitioned the Speaker of the National Assembly to recall him for skipping 60 parliamentary sittings. In their petition, they raised concerns in the matter of absenteeism and non-attendance citing that he failed to represent the people of Emgwen constituency.

According to the Constitution, “the office of an MP becomes vacant when in any session of Parliament, the member is absent from eight sittings of the relevant House without permission, in writing, from the Speaker, and is unable to offer a satisfactory explanation for the absence to the relevant committee”.


Kariuki is the son of former Starehe legislature Bishop Margaret Wanjiru while Kosgey is the son of former Cabinet minister and formally ODM chairman Henry Kosgey. The report, which monitors activities of parliamentarians, indicates that 10 other MPs did not contribute to debate on the floor of the House in 2014.

They include Abdullahi Banticha (Isiolo South), Benjami Andayi (Khwisero), Benson Mbai (Masinga), Charles Gimose (Hamisi), Chris Bichage (former Nyaribari Chache), Lemanken Aramat (Narok East).

Others include Kangundo’s Maweu Katatha, Sammy Koech (Konoin), Kilifi Women’s Representative Aisha Jumwa Katana and her counterpart from Kisii County Mary Keraa. Jessica Musila, executive director at Mzalendo said the report is ther key metrics in ensuring that MPs fulfills their responsibility of representation, oversight and legislation.

“While it is difficult to measure the quality of a single parliamentarian, oral statements made on the floor of the House are an important performance measure for both members of the National Assembly and senators. According to Article 204 of the Constitution, the Commission on Revenue Allocation created the County Development Index, which Parliament uses, in allocating money for development and for the equalisation fund.

The plenary speeches are used as an instrument to assess which Member of Parliament (National Assembly and Senate) is most effective in representing his or her jurisdiction. However, Musila said there is a marked improvement in parliamentarians’ performance compared to the 2013 report.
In 2014, more than 150 members of the National Assembly gave between 20 and 100 contributions to debate in the House unlike in 2013 where more than a third of them spoke less than 10 times each. Their audit is based on 122 sittings for duration of 34 weeks.

In the same period, Suba MP John Mbadi was reported as the best performing MP in the National Assembly followed by Samuel Chepkonga and Asman Kamama. Amina Abdalla was the leading woman legislator for a second year running having spoken 627 times, Millie Odhiambo (361) while Florence Kajuju spoke 277 times.

In the Senate, Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula led the pack as he spoke 804 times, Bonny Khalwale, (603), Billow Kerro, (284) while Beatrice Elachi emerged the best performing woman senator with 152 plenary speeches.

Relationship ni kazi

 Hope you had a good Valentine’s Day. I have come to realise that for a relationship to thrive, it’s good if you love each other deeply but during the really bad days, the guy not the chic has to be madly, stupidly in love with his woman. He has to see her as the centre before cars and other simple obsessions.

She has to be the art, the poem, the symphony and the 16 part accapella. He has to see her beyond her moody, irrational, illogical and inconsistent self. More often than not, he will see her as his baby, worth of those names people don’t call each other in public. He has to be so proud of her that he wants to show the world his gem.

He covers her back and let’s her be. He will bless her, teach her, uplift her and look for opportunities to make her know she’s all the women he has ever desired placed in one. He is not lazy when it comes to her, he doesn’t have to have money, he is pure of heart, which she will pick.

He is playful, around her but serious and focused about a tomorrow where he will wake and think, gadamn this woman be hot. And the woman…the wise one knows she means the world to the guy. She keeps the relationship alive by respecting him, ‘I love yous’ do not matter to him if its more said than done… she knows he is stupid, makes mohawks in the bathroom…

She knows sex is not what keeps him interested in her. That she acknowledges that it can get old and boring. She has his back at all times. She keeps him on toes not based on what the world dictates but based on facts and pure knowledge of her man.
She reads and keeps him intrigued intellectually, emotionally and those other allys…she knows his love language and speaks it, not to kiss ass, but because when he is happy he rebounds it on her. She knows that when he is down, he will turn to her to be uplifted, she knows when to say what and what to do.
She keeps herself amazing and easy to love. She is not boring and knows her man is an individual who has beaten many odds to be with her…she does not compare him to his or her dad, brother X and other ‘enviable’ men…They are not with her, he is.