National Assembly Majority Leader Amos Kimunya and Suna East Member of Parliament (MP) Junet Mohamed on Tuesday, July 7, were locked in a five-hour meeting to solve a row over house leadership positions.
The meeting finally resolved the storm that was brewing between the Jubilee Party and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) by agreeing on how to split the vacant positions in the National Assembly.
Junet took to Twitter to confirm the meeting with Kimunya and revealed his agreement on the list set to be presented in Parliament the next week.
"Held a meeting with Majority Leader Amos Kimunya over House Committees. We have mutually agreed on the list, to be tabled when the house resumes next week," wrote Junet.
Speaking to the Daily Nation, Junet and Kimunya noted that they had held previous meetings on the same matter and the list containing the changes had been agreed upon by the two parties.
"We now have a common position on the committees. We had a meeting with the Majority Leader on Saturday and another on Monday and we are now okay with the list," stated Junet.
"As far as I am concerned we have harmonised the list and it is undergoing reviews at different levels," noted the Majority Leader.
ODM is expected to chair three Committees on Education, Finance and Planning and the Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library Committee.
ODM will also be handed a vice-chair positions in the Legal Affairs and Constitution Implementation Oversight committees.
Among the beneficiaries is Homa Bay Woman Representative Gladys Wanga who is set be the chairperson of the Finance and Planning Committee.
Busia Woman Representative Florence Mutua will chair the Education team while the chair for the Parliamentary Broadcasting and Library Committee is yet to be agreed upon.
The new Deputy Chair of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee is set to be Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo while Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma is slated for the new vice-chair of the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee.
Wiper Party is also set to benefit as they will be handed the chairmanship of the Sports, Culture and Tourism Committee that will go to Mavoko MP Patrick Makau.
Kieni MP Kanini Kega is set to be the chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, replacing his Kikuyu counterpart Kimani Ichung'wah.
The battle for Parliamentary committees posed a tough challenge for Jubilee and ODM with reports claiming that the row was a threat to handshake.
