Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho have been summoned by senators for allegedly issuing a ‘red alert’ at all international airports, preventing them from traveling overseas, during a tense session yesterday.
The accusations came just two months after Members of Parliament expressed similar worries, stating that they had been barred from traveling until the contentious Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, now an Act, was passed.
Senators Aaron Cheruiyot of Kericho and Kipchumba Murkomen of Elgeyo Marakwet said, at the time, that Kwale Senator Boy Juma and several parliamentary personnel had been prohibited from going.
Senator Okong’o Omogeni of Nyamira sparked a new round of outrage on the House floor yesterday when he described his ordeal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where immigration officials temporarily barred him from leaving the country on official parliamentary business last week, citing the “red alert”.
Omogeni alleged that after he was allowed to fly again, immigration officers held and interrogated him before releasing him.
“When I was travelling back, on reaching the immigration desk, my passport was confiscated by an immigration officer, who gave an explanation that she was withdrawing my passport because I had left the country when there is a red alert from immigration officials that senators should not be allowed to travel out of the country unless there is authority from the head of Immigration,” Omogeni said.
In a degraded manner “I was held in a room for over 45 minutes while this lady was frantically consulting with some higher officials,” he said, calling it “forced confinement”.
Omogeni claimed he was abused in the most inhumane way possible.
“A lawyer who was travelling with me on that plane, even sought to know whether I needed some legal assistance or whether I had committed a crime that warranted my being detained at the airport,” he explained.
Nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga said that was a weighty matter that touched on the independence of Parliament and in particular, the Senate.
“The committee should summon the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, among other officials, to find out whether there is a government ban on Senate delegation barring them from traveling out of the country,” Nyamunga added.
