Cracks within the Nairobi City County Assembly have now escalated with the Speaker disbanding the Select Committee for County Public Accounts (PAC) and the Sectoral Committee for Water and Sanitation days after being indicted by the Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for allegedly submitting ‘forged’ 2020-2021 financial statements.
While making communication from the speaker during the plenary sitting yesterday, Ng’ondi stated part of the dissolving PAC is because some members were blaming the Speaker, and the leadership for documents not being availed for audit queries for 2022/2023 at PAC.
He said that for the financial year in question, there were six acting clerks and three acting speakers hence the current speaker and leadership cannot be blamed if documents are not availed at the Assembly PAC committee as accused before the Senate.
Ng’ondi stated that a line should be drawn between the leadership and PAC committee without blaming them for the audit report of 2020/21.
“I appeared before the Senate PAC committee and I had reservations with the report for FY 2020/21. There was no proper administration during that period and I do not know why the speaker and the leadership should be blamed.” He stated.
While announcing the suspension, the speaker said it is for the effectiveness and efficient performance of the assembly and its committee quoting standing order number 1,203 and 209.
“Notwithstanding provisions of standing order 1, 20 and 209, I direct for the disbandment of PAC committee, to be disbanded and reconstituted and the committee of water and Sanitation pursuant to standing order 168(2) and 171(1) be disbanded and reconstituted.” He announced.
Curiously, Ng’ondi disbanded PAC the day they met the executive team for the commencement of the audit of the 2022/23 audit report by Nancy Gathungu.
We established that the committee members of PAC had expressed disappointment while appearing before the Senate PAC committee where the clerk of the Assembly had submitted documents for the audit queries of 2020/21 audit report but had not done the same before the Assembly committee which seemed not to sit well with the speaker.
“They have been invited to the assembly Public Accounts Committee more than five times but they had no documents. When they went to the Senate, they went with a pick-up. How do you take documents to the Senate with a pick-up but not the primary oversight which is the County Assembly?” Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai stated.
The MCA stated that that was what led to the Senate PAC stating that recommendations be made for the assembly to be oversight by the Senate.
The Senator Kajwang led committee made remarks that the assembly should be oversighted by the Senate because the PAC committee had not managed to get documents from the clerk like they had managed.
The Informer Media Group also established that it was while appearing before the Senate PAC, that it was revealed that Ngondi had never met the internal audit team of the Assembly as he stated that was the work of the clerk.
Kileleshwa MCA who has been very vocal on proper legislation and oversight by Nairobi legislators stated that they cannot appear before the PAC of the senate and defend the Assembly when they were not preview of what the documents presented contained.
“They are saying that when we go to the senate we are supposed to defend them, how do we do it when we even do not know what their documents contain? Let them produce the documents when called to appear before PAC. You saw they even came today for the schedule of the Audit report for 2022/23 but they had no document and if it were before the senate, they would be having them.” He said.
The Informer Media Group reached out to the Water and Sanitation committee chair to establish reasons why his committee was disbanded and it was established that the issue stemmed from his disagreement with the budget committee chair which had even led to his resignation from the select committee for budget.
“The issue has not started now, it started long ago because he wants my support in 2027 elections because he has been saying he will vie for Mathaare MP seat. He wants me to bow for him and I cannot.” Ngei ward MCA who was the Water and Sanitation Committee Chair Redson Otieno told the Informer Media Group.
Redson revealed that he had not even been invited to defend the supplementary budget for his sector the previous weekend due to the fallout with the budget committee chair.
“Last weekend I never got the invitation sms to defend the supplementary budget of my sector the water chairman while friends of the budget committee got an invitation.” Redson.
He said that because the witch-hunt led to false accusations and after failing to remove him the only resolve was to disband the committee.
This is not the first time committees in the third assembly of Nairobi are being disbanded to be reconstituted.
The powers and privileges committee was in the third schedule of the assembly disbanded and reconstituted after they failed to find fault of Kileleshwa MCA who was suspended from the assembly close to three months as he explained to the Informer Media Group.
Alai has called for the assembly to remain objective and MCAs do their oversight, legislation and representation as provided in the 2010 constitution.
He stated that the leadership needs to be objective and follow the law.
“You can lead the government business objectively…What standing orders has the majority leader used before when bringing that motion about Kerich and recently Babu? They act against the law and we are just quiet because if we were malicious, they could even survive. Let’s get to work for Nairobians well and formulate laws that help them.” He stated.
The disbanding of PAC came hours after the committee had a meeting with the Nairobi executive team and scheduled the appearing of various sectors before the committee to defend themselves over queries raised by the auditor general for the financial period that ended in June 2023.
The committee was also set to meet the Assembly clerk and his team next week Tuesday for the schedule of their appearing for the audit of 2022/23.
It now remains unclear whether the committee that will be reinstated will start afresh or will pick from where the disbanded one left.
The auditor general Nancy Gathungu flagged off Over Sh 20billion in irregular and questionable spending in Nairobi County in the financial audit report for 2022/23.
While disbanding the committees, the speaker directed that the select committee on powers and privileges committee to investigate and report within twenty-one days about the viral video which raised concerns about his conduct and personality.
Previously, the house leadership led by the majority leader Peter Imwatok and the Minority leader Anthony Kiragu defended the speaker saying the spread of the video is a way of division among the members of the Assembly.
Imwatok said the matter will be forwarded to the powers and privileges committee for disciplinary actions to be taken against him.
Confirming the happenings of the video, Ngondi said he has already asked for forgiveness from the member and her family.
“The incident happened in 2022 and it has been blown out of contest. It was never meant to disparage anyone.” Ngondi said.
The association of Muslim lawyers termed the behavior as a criminal act and unethical adding that it violates the religious belief of Muslims as it constitutes to violation of her rights.
“Such reprehensible behavior is criminal, unethical immoral and not only violates her religious beliefs but also constitutes a grave violation of bodily and autonomy and dignity.” The statement by the association of Muslim lawyers read in part.
They called for charges to be pressed against Ngondi.
“We therefore urgently demand accountability and immediate commencement of criminal charges by DCI against Hon. Ken Ngondi for this egregious sexual harassment.” They said.
In the viral video where Ngondi was captured forcefully greeting the Muslim nominated MCA as the other male MCAs were heard chanting that the lady was supposed to greet him that it was his birthday.
Kileleshwa Member of County Assembly Robert Alai was accused of sharing the viral video but he stated that he is only at the assembly to do what he was elected for.
He stated that they are worried as legislators about such behavior of the speaker asking him to carry his cross for what he did without putting the blame on anyone.
“Even if the thing in the video happened two years ago, it is something he did. Let us take the example of R. Kelly who is serving a life sentence for something he did in the ninety’s. If someone is abusive, let them carry their cross and if he sees the video posted on social media and starts blaming us then it is wrong; we are also worried if he can do such.” Alai told the Informer Media Group.
