Members of the press outside Integrity Centre, the headquarters of the
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, on January 13, 2014. PHOTO |
BILLY MUTAI |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Cord leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday accused the government of
using the anti-corruption commission to intimidate opposition MPs over
the chaotic scenes that characterised debate on the controversial
security laws two weeks ago.
A statement sent to
newsrooms by Mr Odinga’s spokesman, Mr Dennis Onyango, said there was a
plot by the Executive to use the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission
(EACC) to target opposition MPs and senators for investigations over the
chaos that rocked Parliament during the debate on the Security Laws
(Amendment) Laws 2014.
“We are aware the commission is
under firm instruction from senior officials of the Jubilee
administration to harass opposition legislators and disregard everything
else that happened on that day,” said the statement.
YET TO ISSUE SUMMONS
The commission is yet to issue summons to any of the MPs and senators it has accused of being behind the chaos in Parliament.
“I
have not received any summons from EACC but even if I received them, I
will not honour them because the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act does not
give Mr (Mumo) Matemu any mandate to look into the conduct of MPs,”
said Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale.
ODM chairman and Suba MP John Mbadi also said he was yet to be summoned.
“I
have not received any summons from anybody. All I’ve heard is from the
media. If anything, what I did is in the public domain. I took the
committee report and tore it so if anybody wants to take me to court for
that, let them do so,” he said.
According to him, he deserved a medal for “standing up to those who wanted to violate the Constitution”.
A
source at the EACC, who sought anonymity because he is not authorised
to speak on behalf of the commission, said investigations were yet to be
concluded.
“Most of the investigators are away until
next week. That is when you can expect any investigations to commence,”
said the source.
Mr Matemu, the EACC chairman, has in
the past said that over 10 MPs and senators could face sanctions for
their role in the fracas.
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