• Protest came a day after Azimio leadership in the Senate engineered the removal of Dullo’s name, a member of the Jubilee, from the list of the coalition's nominees to the commission.
• Keynan, who led the team, demanded that Jubilee gets its fair share at the Parliamentary Service Commission.
Image: /EZEKIEL AMING'A
Raila Odinga's Azimio coalition is on the brink of collapse after wrangles rocked it barely three months after the August 9 general election.
Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee party has threatened to pull out of the coalition, accusing Raila’s ODM of "grabbing" its slot in the Parliamentary Service Commission.
On Thursday, Jubilee MPs led by its secretary for Parliamentary Group and Eldas MP Adan Keynan, and Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo assailed ODM for what they termed "political conmanship and deceit in grabbing their position".
“We, the leadership of the Jubilee Party in Parliament are saddened by this show of impunity,” nominated MP Sabina Chege said in a joint statement by the legislators.
“We will convene an urgent meeting with our Parliamentary Group to discuss our relationship with our coalition partners,” Sabina added, signaling a looming fallout in the opposition coalition.
Other MPs who attended the press conference at Parliament Buildings were Senator Abdul Haji (Garissa), Sarah Korere (Laikipia North MP), Ruweida Mohamed (Lamu West), Amos Mwago (Starehe), Aden Daud and Amina Siyad.
The protest came a day after Azimio leadership in the Senate engineered the removal of Dullo’s name, a member of the Jubilee Party, from the list of the coalition's nominees to the commission.
The senators approved the motion by Minority leader Stewart Madzayo to amend the list that came from the National Assembly to remove Dullo.
He replaced Dullo with Nyamira Senator Okong'o Omogeni (ODM).
However, in a letter to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, which was seen by the Star, Madzayo fronted Dullo’s name as among the coalition’s pick for PSC.
“This is to inform you that the Minority party has nominated Senator Fatuma Dullo to the Parliamentary Service Commission,” the letter dated November 3 reads.
Likoni MP Mishi Mboko (ODM) and her Mavoko counterpart Patrick Makau (Wiper) are the other members of the coalition nominated to the commission.
But in a ruling by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula, the chairperson of the commission, the Speaker disregarded pleas by Jubilee leaders to halt the debate on the new list.
He allowed members to debate the motion. They approved the list as amended by the Senate despite desperate attempts by Jubilee members to halt the debate.
“I have taken the liberty to peruse the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition agreement, faulty as it may be, to help me navigate this matter. I have noted that it makes no mention of the sharing of positions in the commission," Wetang'ula said.
"No amount of sympathy I have for the plight Jubilee Party finds itself would allow me to arbitrate on this matter as my hands are tied by the law and procedure.”
The leaders reckoned that ODM, Jubilee and Wiper were supposed to share equally, three slots reserved for the opposition coalition.
The legislators demanded their slot back and urged their leaders to convene an urgent meeting to resolve the issue or “we announce next course of action.”
Keynan, who led the team, demanded that Jubilee gets its fair share at the Parliamentary Service Commission.
“What is perturbing is not even who sits there. It is the modus operandi. The rules of engagement. We are in Azimio but at this early stage, we are seeing a complete disregard for the rules of engagement," he said.
“We are saying that Jubilee Party, as part of Azimio, is entitled to nominate one commissioner to the PSC.”
Keynan asked the Azimio leadership to fast-track the resolution of the impasse and allow Jubilee to nominate members to the commission.
“We are not going to be flower girls or flower boys of anybody. Very soon, we will be calling a PG to discuss this and other issues pertaining to the party's interests at a date that will be announced very soon,” he said.
Keynan also accused their partners of short-changing Sirisia MP John Waluke, whom the party had picked to sit on the commission.
“Up to now we are asking ourselves, how Waluke missed from the list. That is the question but nobody wants to take responsibility,” he said.
Last week, Jubilee secretary general Jeremiah Kioni visited Waluke at the Industrial Prison where he is serving a jail term and handed him a letter nominating him to the commission.
MP Korere accused ODM of conmanship, deceit and political banditry in the coalition.
"We were not coerced to join ODM in Azimio. We joined willingly and if they mistreat Jubilee members, we will leave them willingly,” she said.
"We are asking our leaders to address this, failing which we will tell them what our next action will be.”
Azimio coalition was hurriedly formed in the run-up to the August general election to propel Raila to power.
The coalition has 26 members, with ODM, Jubilee and Wiper as the primary parties.