Azimio la Umoja Senators staged a walkout from the Senate on Wednesday morning after Speaker Amason Kingi dismissed a motion seeking to censure Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria over his attacks on the media.
The Senators questioned how CS Kuria was allowed to appear before the House pending a motion of censure, arguing that he would take advantage and use the moment to sanitize himself.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna sought clarification on what grounds upon which CS Kuria has been allowed to address the House yet there is a motion, filed on June 19, seeking to grill him over his blatant remarks.
“My fear is that the CS is going to use this privilege of appearing before the Senate to cleanse himself of the accusations contained in that motion,” he said.
“We in the minority side are objecting to his presence in this House and seek guidance on whether his presence here today to the dispense of this motion is prejudicial to the same motion.”
He was also supported by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua who, as a former journalist, said the attacks were personal and painful for him.
“For the dignity of this House, it would be wrong that a Minister, a public servant who is facing a motion of censure gets the privilege of addressing this honourable House on any matter touching on his docket,” said Wambua.
“To allow a Cabinet Secretary to use the floor of this House to sanitize himself over accusations of abuse and insults directed at media houses is a painful thing for me.”
In his rebuttal, Speaker Kingi said that the motion Senator Sifuna was alluding to did not follow the required procedure of filing a motion in the House, stating that the motion breached the Standing Orders.
“Pursuant to Standing Order number 60 that addresses on matters motion, a Senator first, before moving a motion, they must file a notice of motion and before you move it the first thing you do is to take to the clerk a copy of the proposed motion,” explained Kingi.
“Thereafter the clerk is required to submit it to the Speaker and the Speaker, using certain parameters as guided under Standing Order 63, the Speaker guided himself in order either to admit that particular motion or to rule it inadmissible.”
Speaker Kingi went on to add that he did not receive any motion and ruled that Senator Sifuna is out of order and CS Kuria is allowed to address the House.
“…When the motion is admitted then the mover of that notice is allowed to give notice if the speaker rules that its inadmissible then the matter ends there,” he said.
“As far as I am concerned I have not seen the proposed motion that Senator Sifuna has submitted on. Therefore having not seen it it cannot be a subject of discussion on the floor of the House today,” he added.
“What we are doing is anticipating debate contrary to Standing Order 99. I, therefore, rule that Senator Sifuna you are out of order because your argument breaches order 99 and you are anticipating debate. I will therefore allow the CS to proceed to respond to the question as asked by Marsabit Senator.”
After Speaker Kingi’s ruling, the Azimio allied Senators walked out of the chambers halting the proceedings for ten minutes due to lack of quorum.
Kuria on Sunday attacked the Nation Media Group (NMG), accusing them of being “an opposition party” in what was seen as a response to an exposé NMG ran over the weekend on an oil scandal allegedly orchestrated by his ministry.
Labelling the media house’s journalists as “prostitutes”, he even made a roadside declaration directed at government agencies to stop advertising with NMG, failure to which they would be sacked.
CS Kuria’s remarks angered many Kenyans who deemed it too low and juvenile.
The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the Kenya Editors’ Guild issued statements on Monday castigating the CS’s utterances and his overall conduct as a state official.
KUJ said Kuria was “becoming a symbol of national shame” and condemned his reactions to media reports as an embarrassment to Kenyans.
The Kenya Editors’ Guild on its part termed Kuria’s remarks as “unwarranted, uncalled for and totally off the mark.”
KEG demanded an unconditional apology from the Trade and assurance from President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration that the sentiments expressed by Kuria do not represent the policy of the government.
