A heated confrontation between Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi temporarily interrupted a National Assembly Health Committee session on Tuesday.
During the exchange, the MP and the CS traded blame over the closure of two health facilities, with Duale accusing the MP of being linked to the said facilities that had been closed over fraud claims.
"I have closed your hospitals," Duale shouted, at which the MP responded, "I have no hospitals and I have never owned even a dispensary."
"That is the strategy you use to hide. You need to answer questions. We are not your children; you cannot come and lecture us. Who are you? Just because you are the President's friend," Kibagendi told Duale.
Ignoring calls from the committee chairperson, Seme MP James Nyikal, the MP continued to refute claims that he owned the closed health facilities.
"We have closed your hospitals, and if possible, we will charge you in a court of law," Duale declared.
Subsequently, the CS was involved in another altercation with the Nandi Woman Representative, Cynthia Muge, accusing her of intimidation, as he continued to ignore the point of order.
He went on to accuse several members of the committee of owning hospitals, insisting that they should not be allowed to be on the committee.
"I have lived here for 20 years. I will not allow somebody to attack me within the reading of the standing orders. Nobody can bully me, particularly when conflicted," Duale insisted.
"Some of the members of this committee have facilities. If you want me to name them, I will name them and I will give them to you. They should not be in this committee."
Taking to Facebook moments after the heated confrontation, MP Kibagendi explained that the CS was seemingly accusing him of owning hospitals to avoid answering questions on the rot of the Social Health Authority (SHA).
As such, he urged the CS to provide the evidence on the hospitals he supposedly owned, and then he could start answering the questions.
"Each time I ask CS Duale hard questions about SHA, he quickly switches to saying he has closed my hospitals (I don't know which ones), and that is why I am hard on him," he lamented.
"Why can't Duale openly say which hospitals I own, when they were registered and who are even my proxies? And then go ahead to close them completely so that he can answer our questions about the inadequacies and conflicts of interest he has in SHA."
At the end of the explosive confrontation, only three lawmakers remained to continue the session.
