National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has revealed why legislators barred the DCI from conducting a blanket investigation on the house in regard to a bribery report to protect their 2022 interests.
The MPs, while adopting the report by the Powers and Privileges Committee, directed the DCI and the EACC to limit their scope of the investigation to only the MPs who were implicated in the toilet bribery scandal that led to the rejection of the sugar report.
He argued that subjecting all the 349 members to the investigation could have a detrimental impact on the 2022 polls if some are not cleared by the anti-corruption body prior to the elections.
“This is a serious matter Mr Speaker, allowing other agencies to investigate members can drag to 2022 and some MPs might not be cleared to vie for elections.
“Let the people who made the allegations go to DCI and EACC as ordinary Kenyans and give evidence, but you cannot indict 349 MPs, including the Speaker, with no evidence,” he stated.
The ball is now in the DCI and EACC's court after the MPs adopted the report.
The bodies are required to commence investigations within 90 days into the bribery allegations.
Earlier testimonies by Kiambu Woman Representative Gathoni wa Muchomba and Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara confirmed that MPs received bribes to kill the sugar probe report in toilets.
It was alleged that the MPs were handed Ksh10,000 bribes to reject the sugar report of the joint committee on Trade and Agriculture.
