A blame game has erupted in the National Assembly over a growing pile-up of unanswered requests for statements, with committee chairpersons accusing the Executive of holding back information needed to give MPs answers on issues raised by citizens.
The row came after Deputy Majority Leader Owen Baya tabled a tracker showing that 132 requests for statements were pending in 19 parliamentary committees, with some committees carrying more than 20 outstanding requests.
Committee chairpersons rejected suggestions that they had neglected their responsibilities, saying the delays were largely caused by ministries that had not submitted responses required by Parliament.
The chairs of the Departmental Committees on Transport and Infrastructure, Administration and National Security, and Finance and National Planning said they had made repeated efforts to obtain answers from government ministries.
They said some of their attempts to push officials for responses had even resulted in accusations that committee leaders were harassing government officers.
Ndia MP George Kariuki, who heads the Transport and Infrastructure Committee, disputed the figures in Baya's report, particularly the claim that his committee had 21 pending statements.
Kariuki said his records showed that only 13 statements were outstanding, raising questions about how the figures in the tracker had been compiled.
The Administration and National Security Committee, chaired by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, had the largest backlog at 26, followed by Transport and Infrastructure with 21 and Education with 18.
Baya, however, took issue with Kariuki's record and suggested that the Ndia MP could be distracted by political ambitions.
"I think he is busy running for governor or something," Mr Baya said.
Kariuki hit back, accusing Baya of using the figures to settle political scores and damage his reputation as a committee chairperson.
"There is an invisible hand. Somebody is trying to destroy my reputation, otherwise why give exaggerated figures on the number of statements that are outstanding?" he alleged
"Somebody wants to portray me and my committee as incompetent. I read total politics in that report. We are in a political season and I don't know why a colleague is delivering statements that are clearly meant to tarnish others" he added.
Kariuki said he had maintained his responsibility on the floor of the House and had never failed to deliver a statement allocated to his committee on the Order Paper.
"I have always made the Speaker aware of my absence and nominated my vice-chairperson or a member to stand in and respond to the statements. That is what a responsible chairperson does. Sometimes, when a member who sought the statement is not in, we simply table it. I am always in the House save for a few days here and there," he said.
He said committee chairs were being unfairly blamed for a process they do not control.
According to Kariuki, committees do not determine which statements are considered by the House, the number taken up during a sitting or the date on which they are presented.
He said that once an MP seeks a statement, the Speaker normally asks the relevant committee chairperson to indicate when it will be delivered, with 14 days being the usual period.
The process then moves to the Clerk of the National Assembly, who writes to the relevant ministry requesting the information.
The ministry, through the principal secretary, sends its response to the Clerk, who forwards it to the House Business Committee for scheduling on the Order Paper.
Committee chairpersons then present the responses to MPs in the House.
Kariuki said the arrangement meant committees could not provide answers where ministries had failed to submit the required information.
"Committee chairpersons don't write to Cabinet secretaries or principal secretaries for answers. It is the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly. When we push ministries for answers, they say we are harassing them. We can't respond to statements when ministries have not forwarded answers to Parliament through the Clerk and if they are not scheduled in the Order Paper, said Mr Kariuki.
Tongoyo, whose committee has the highest number of pending requests, acknowledged the backlog and promised that his team would work to clear it.
"I appeal to the members to be patient and assure them that we will address the majority of the 26 listed statements.
It is our duty and it is in our interest to expedite all statements that have not been responded to," Mr Tongoyo said.
The Finance and National Planning Committee also came under scrutiny over its pending statements, but chairperson Kuria Kimani said the volume of work handled by his team had contributed to the delays.
Kimani said his committee had produced a large number of reports dealing with financial Bills and Sessional Papers while also handling other matters linked to the budget.
"Looking at the Bills and Reports tracker of the House, my committee is the busiest and sometimes we have a lot of business, but we are committed to delivering requests for statements without delay," Mr Kimani said.
He said the committee's workload becomes particularly heavy when dealing with Treasury Bills connected to the budget.
"Most of the time the committee is very busy with the Treasury Bills that are tied to the budget. But we have a great number of reports that we have tabled. The workload has sometimes led to the backlog on the delivery of statements sought by MPs," he added.
Beyond the three committees at the centre of the dispute, the tracker showed that other parliamentary teams were also carrying outstanding requests.
The Health Committee, chaired by Seme MP James Nyikal, had eight pending statements, while Lands, chaired by North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko, had seven.
The Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, headed by Belgut MP Nelson Koech, had six pending requests.
Agriculture and Livestock had five outstanding statements, while Energy and Labour also had five each.
Environment, Forestry and Mining had four, while Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works and Tourism and Wildlife had three each.
The Communication, Information and Innovation Committee had two pending statements.
Blue Economy and Irrigation, Justice and Legal Affairs, Social Protection, Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, and Budget and Appropriations each had one outstanding request.
Education chairperson Julius Melly, Koech and Gikaria did not respond to requests for comment.
The dispute comes as Parliament's committee system remains a key route through which MPs seek answers from the government on matters affecting their constituents.
Committee chairpersons and members are paid sitting allowances, with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission setting the allowance for chairpersons at Sh15,000 per sitting, subject to a monthly limit of Sh240,000.
Vice-chairpersons receive Sh12,000 per sitting, with their allowance capped at Sh192,000 a month.
Committee members receive Sh7,500 per sitting, with a maximum monthly allowance of Sh120,000