President William Ruto (left) and Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga have completed the removal of former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua’s allies from the leadership of committees in the National Assembly and Senate.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who chaired the powerful Budget and Appropriations committee, is among the latest casualties of the purge that was extended to the National Assembly on Wednesday, after a similar ruthless operation in the Senate last week.
This follows the adoption by the National Assembly of the list of the newly constituted committee members that seeks to align with the broad-based government that President Ruto and Mr Odinga have struck.
The approval by the House of the new membership of the House committees ends the stalemate that has persisted since February 18 when the Speaker announced the lapsing of some 18 National Assembly committees.
Following the approval by the House on Wednesday, the members of the reconstituted committees have seven days to elect their respective chairs and vice chairs.
The Clerk of the National Assembly Mr Samuel Njoroge, on the direction of the Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, is on Thursday expected to issue a schedule of meetings of committees to elect the committee leadership.
While a majority of MPs allied to Mr Gachagua have been left in committees in which they served as chairs or vice chairs, the Speaker signaled the imminent change of guard indicating that “the chair and vice chair are elected on the dynamics you all know.”
The changes are expected to see Mr Odinga’s ODM take over the chairmanship of the powerful Budget and Appropriations Committee formerly chaired by Mr Nyoro, who has been retained in the committee.
The Budget Committee plays a critical role in approving the national budget as it recommends to the National Treasury the allocation of funds for expenditure in a financial year.
Mr Nyoro had been considered President Ruto’s “very close” ally immediately the Kenya Kwanza administration assumed power that saw his name mentioned among those likely to be the President’s running mate in the 2027 general elections.
However, his star drastically dimmed after he failed to take a position on the impeachment of DP Gachagua, a middle ground that he still holds to date.
Mr Nyoro is among MPs who skipped the House sitting on October 8, 2024, as it voted on the Gachagua impeachment.
There are also four other departmental committees- Health, Labour, Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, and Regional Integration- whose leadership will be seized by Mr Odinga’s faction.
Gachagua-allied MPs set to lose the plum posts are Embakasi North’s James Gakuya, who chaired the Trade, Industry and Cooperatives committee, Runyenjes’ Eric Karemba, who led the Labour Committee, and Kipiri’s Wanjiku Muhia, who chaired the Regional Integration committee.
Other MPs allied to Mr Gachagua who have also been affected include Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, who has been moved from the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) where she was chairperson to a member of the Facilities and Services.
Mr Gakuya has been moved from Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives, where he was chairperson to the Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library Committee, which rarely sits.
Other Gachagua allies also moved to the Broadcasting Committee include Edward Muriu (Gatanga) from the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), Onesmas Ngogoyo (Kajiado North) and Goerge Koimburi (Juja).
Mr Karemba is tipped to replace Ms Wamuchomba as chairperson, of CIOC, with Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka set to replace David Gikaria (Nakuru Town East) as Environment Committee chairman.
Ms Wamuchomba fell out with President Ruto’s administration in the first year of assuming power and has since been a marked person by those close to the president.
Like Ms Muhia, Ms Wamuchomba was among those who opposed and questioned the impeachment of DP Gachagua.
Mr Gakuya is a key ally of the impeached DP and has on numerous occasions clashed with the authorities leading to his arrests.
These changes are expected to see Mr Odinga allied MPs Samuel Atandi (Alego Usonga) chair the Budget committee and Dr James Nyikal (Seme) is tipped to lead the Health committee. Nominated MP Irene Mayaka is set to replace Ms Muhia on the Regional Integration committee.
Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali is tipped to replace Mr Gakuya at the Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives Committee with Kilifi South MP Ken Chonga set to replace Mr Karemba at the Labour Committee.
Notably, the only MP not allied to the former deputy president set to cede leadership to ODM is Endebess MP Dr Robert Pukose.
Standing Order 178 of the National Assembly Standing Orders provides guidance on the leadership of the House Committees for instance, departmental committees elect their chairpersons and vice chairpersons from among their respective members.
This means that any member of the respective departmental committee whether from a parliamentary party forming the government or not, can chair or deputize the committees.
“This is a work in progress. Sometimes we lose members to death ... and others have to come in and replace them,” Speaker Wetang’ula said after some MPs complained that the list of committee members was skewed to the favoured members.
During the recent committee leadership elections in the Senate, Mr Odinga’s senators wrestled control of leadership of committees previously chaired by senators allied to Mr Gachagua.
Among the winners were Mr Odinga’s brother, Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga, who is now the Energy committee chairperson taking over from Nyeri counterpart Wahome Wamatinga.
Senator Wamatinga was elevated to a commissioner with the Parliamentary Service Commissioner (PSC) taking over from Laikipia Senator John Kinyua, who paid the price for being a supporter of the ex-DP Gachagua.
Nominated Senator Betty Montet landed the chairperson position of the Education committee replacing Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu, another ally of Mr Gachagua.
Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki was elected to lead the Lands, Environment and Natural Resources committee replacing Mr Gachagua’s ally, Nyandarua Senator John Methu.
Kwale Senator Issa Boy was elected as the new chairperson of the Trade, Industrialisation, and Tourism committee to replace Kajiado Senator Seki Lenku, another supporter of Mr Gachagua.
Migori Senator Eddy Oketch was elected as the Roads, Transportation, and Housing Committee chairperson replacing Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa, a senator allied to the former deputy president.
In addition to the top positions, ODM also landed the vice chairperson in the National Security, Defence, and Foreign Relations committee through Kisumu Senator Prof Tom Ojienda and in the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) where Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei was a vice chairman. The position is now being held by Taita Taveta Senator Johnes Mwaruma.
The Standing Orders are specific on who chairs or deputises the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Public Investments Committees (PICs), and the Committee on Implementation (CoI) in the National Assembly.
The House rules state that members of PAC, PICs, and SFAC shall elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson from amongst the members of the committees from a party other than a parliamentary party forming the national government.
Further, the rules state members of the Special Fund Accounts Committee (SFAC) shall elect a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson from amongst independent members nominated to the committee or the members of the committee nominated from a party other than a parliamentary party forming the national government.
This is if there are no independent members in the House.
Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, who has been retained in the Transport and Infrastructure Committee where he has been Vice Chairperson, has been categorical that change including reorganization of committees “is inevitable in the spirit of broad-based government.
“The broad-based government that we now have must be reflected within the leadership of the House committees. This is one of the reasons that the committees were reconstituted,” said Mr Barasa.
The committees on budget, energy, transport, housing, and trade are some of the most sought-after committees by members ordinarily at the start of the first session of the House, usually after a general election.
The Kimilili MP revealed that the reconstitution of the House committees was also informed by the National Assembly leadership retreat in Naivasha early this year “that assessed the performance of among others, committees.”
“As part of reengineering the National Assembly to ensure that it delivers services to the people, this change is necessary and as a House, we support it regardless of the casualties,” the Kimilili MP said.
