Speaker Muturi shields independents, single-member party MPs from committee expulsions » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 10 – National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi on Tuesday barred parliamentary parties – Jubilee, ODM and Wiper – from ejecting independents and lawmakers form non-parliamentary parties from House committees.

In a ruling following a request for clarity on the matter by Ugenya MP David Ochieng’ (MDG), who was facing expulsion from a committee by ODM, Muturi ruled that non-aligned members could not removed from committees pending the adoption of clear guidelines under the Standing Orders.

“The review should not weaken the grip that parliamentary parties have on allocation of slots in committees to their Members and invocation of the discharge rule as a tool for enforcing party discipline, but should stretch the democratic space in the House with a view to incorporating fairness and inculcating the expectations of Articles 1, 94, 95, 97 and 103 of our Constitution in the criteria for sharing of Committee slots,” he stated in his communication.