Rachael Nyamai: MP who cannot stand lowly journalists with no fashion taste
That Kitui South MP Rachael Nyamai has been in the eye of the storm for berating journalists is no surprise.
The 46-year-old is not new to controversy. The three-term legislator attracts scandal like light does to a moth.
Known for speaking her mind, Dr Nyamai does not shy away from picking up fights.
The lawmaker was at it again on Wednesday when she accused journalists of dressing indecently.
Comparing parliamentary reporters to MPs, she said they need to up their game in appearance.
“There seems to be a gap between the way Parliament conducts itself in dressing and the team of journalists we have,” she said.
“Is there a way that we can have a conversation with our leadership so that they can up their game, especially on the way they appear?”
Her remarks drew fury and condemnation from the media fraternity.
As a self-proclaimed musician, the Kitui South MP was off-note this time.
But even after being in Parliament for 10 years, the Kenyatta University alumnus does not seem to know there are laid down rules on parliamentary dress code as well as orderlies at the gate ensuring adherence to the guidelines.
Perhaps, the MP wants journalists to dress in expensive clothes funded by taxes from the same reporters.
Controversy
Being from a privileged family, the daughter of an assistant chief and a six-figure earner appears to see anything that is not expensive as indecent.
Dr Nyamai and controversy seem to be conjoined twins.
In 2016, the MP survived an attempt to remove her as the chairperson of the National Assembly Health Committee which was looking into claims of corruption involving billions of shillings at the Ministry of Health.
That was after a petition for a vote of no confidence that had been signed by 20 of the 29 members of the committee mysteriously went missing, bringing the process to an abrupt end.
“I know this matter has been widely discussed, but I have not seen the document signed by the 20 members,” she sneered at her colleagues.
Fellow committee members had expressed dissatisfaction with Dr Nyamai’s leadership.
A number of them had accused her of stopping them from expressing themselves freely during meetings.
Committee meetings
At one point, Kathiani MP Robert Mbui accused Dr Nyamai of having a domineering attitude during committee meetings.
That is not all. In 2014, Dr Nyamai ordered the arrest of a blogger named Mbuvi Kisina for criticising her on social media.
Mr Kisina said his problems with the MP stemmed from his demand for accountability in the management of the Kitui South Constituency Development Fund.
Born on August 28, 1976 in Kitui County, Dr Nyamai is married to Mr Titus Mavui Ngumu and is serving her third term in Parliament.
A trained teacher, Dr Nyamai is known to stand her ground on matters she strongly supports.
Her decision to defy the Wiper Party wave in her Ukambani region and her subsequent victory in the Kitui South seat during the 2013 General Election on a Narc party ticket in the Jubilee Coalition caught many by surprise.
Before joining politics, Dr Nyamai was a lecturer at Kenyatta University.
She also lectured at South Eastern University College in Kitui County between 2011 and 2012.
She holds a doctorate in Global Health from the University of Aarhus, Denmark. BY DAILY NATION
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