This is not the time to feud

The public spat between two of the top leaders of the two Houses of Parliament is unfortunate, more so at this time when we are battling a deadly pandemic.

The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) that has already claimed 12 lives and infected more than 260 people is not a joke.

It poses a grave challenge that should serve as a clear test of leadership both at the grassroots and at the national level.

Therefore, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and his Senate counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen should not be squabbling when the country needs true leadership.

Both men are expected to marshal the hundreds of their fellow lawmakers to address the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the majority leaders of both Houses, who should be singing a common song to promote their party’s and the government's agenda, are at loggerheads, engaging in a needless verbal exchange.

This is bound to undermine the legislative agenda of the ruling Jubilee Party. Granted, two rival factions have emerged in the ruling party.

The factions revolve around President Uhuru Kenyatta and his apparently estranged deputy William Ruto over premature succession politics.

However, for Senate Majority Leader Murkomen to claim that Parliament is dead, is sinking to an unimaginable low.

For his part, Mr Duale has hit back, declaring that Mr Murkomen cannot speak on behalf of the National Assembly.

Quite clearly, there is a disconnect, as the least one would have expected is the two leaders to so blatantly quarrel in public over which House is superior to the other.

The President looks up to both of them coordinate and drive the Jubilee agenda, and this battle for supremacy is uncalled for.

Against the backdrop of this feud is an effort to steer the country through the worst pandemic it has ever experienced in the five decades of independence.

This, therefore, is the time for leaders to put aside their differences and put their heads together to confront the grave threat to the nation from the coronavirus pandemic.