Several Members of Parliament were unable to access their offices on Monday, May 12, due to rent arrears, Kenyans.co.ke has learnt.
The lawmakers were locked out of their offices at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) over unpaid rent amounting to more than Ksh50 million.
Their plight came just days after the Parliamentary Service Commission tried to salvage the situation by appealing to the KICC management to allow the MPs back into their offices as efforts to settle the rent arrears continued.
According to reports, the PSC had promised to clear the outstanding balances before the close of the current financial year, which ends on June 30.
“The PSC is in the process of seeking funds to settle the outstanding amount by the end of the financial year. In view of this, we request that you allow the Members of Parliament to continue accessing the facilities at KICC, including patrolling of COMESA grounds without interference,” a letter signed by Accounting Officer Clement Nyandiere read.
In the letter, Nyandiere was adamant that the PCS had a long-standing relationship with KICC, which spanned years, and this was enough grounds for the landlords to extend a courtesy by allowing the commission some time to settle their arrears.
The PSC claims there have been delays due to exchequer and budgetary constraints, but this has never stopped the commission from meeting its rental obligations.
Nyandiere also alluded to past arrears in his letter, which he claims were duly settled. These arrears totalled Ksh134 million and were broken down into Ksh73 million for the 2023/2024 financial year and Ksh61 million for the current financial year up until December 2024.
The letter was also sent to the National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula, who chairs the PSC, for consideration.
While the number of MPs who are unable to access their offices is uncertain, more than 40 lawmakers had their offices at the KICC in April 2024.
Another batch of MPs have their offices at Bunge Towers, while those who were not successful in balloting for offices at Bunge Towers were accommodated at Harambee SACCO Plaza.
At the time of publication of this article, the fate of the MPs as far as their offices are concerned remained uncertain.
