Azimio MPs who support Kenya Kwanza must resign – Mbadi

 

Nominated MP John Mbadi now says that all members of the National Assembly elected under the Azimio coalition who are supporting President William Ruto's administration should resign.

According to Mbadi, this is because it is a constitutional requirement that they do so.

The former National Assembly majority leader said these MPs need to seek fresh mandates from the people they represent, under their 'newfound parties'.

He insisted that they need permission from the electorate.

"Even in ODM which has never given any indication that we want to be part of Kenya Kwanza, there are members of ODM who are for all intent and purpose now members of Kenya Kwanza. They vote with Kenya Kwanza and speak with Kenya Kwanza. The best thing to do is to go and seek a fresh mandate. My own MP is associating with Kenya Kwanza. He has never sought the opinion of the electorate," Mbadi said.

"We are calling for the respect of multi-party democracy. Our constitution speaks to it that Kenya is a Multi-party democracy that provision in the law was not just there to fill pages of the 2010 Constitution."

The ODM nominated MP also called out President William Ruto over calls to have a functional opposition to oversight his administration.

Mbadi accused Ruto of working to cripple the same opposition he wants to oversight him, by poaching its members to his side.

"You cannot claim that you want to be oversighted by a vibrant and robust opposition and make them part of your government illegally."

President Ruto a few months ago wrote to the National Assembly asking that the legislature amends the constitution to create the Office of the Opposition Leader.

The office would be funded by the taxpayer.

According to the president, currently, Kenya does not have proper structures to keep the government in check.

"I would also work on establishing the Office of the Leader of Opposition, I know it sounds weird, doesn't sound right. We do not have the structures to hold the government to account," Ruto said in April.

"We come from a five-year government where there was no distinction between the government and opposition,  because of the handshake that was in Kenya."    BY THE STAR