Kiambu Senator, Kimani Wamatangi, has revealed reasons that can lead to Members of the Senate being blocked from travelling out of the country.
During an interview on Citizen TV station on Thursday, January 27, the Senator stated that the Speaker of the Senate has powers to suspend travel plans of Senators when an important Bill is being discussed in the House.
Wamatangi stated that they have been blocked from travelling abroad on numerous occasions in the past, adding that Bills touching on revenue allocation to counties warrant for full membership of the House.
“It is not only one, two or ten times that the Speaker himself has implored on us as the Senators. He himself at times has even suspended travel.
“There was a time when we were debating revenue sharing and we were time-barred from travelling. We all agreed with the Speaker's appeal,” he stated.
Wamatangi added that there were occasions when the Speaker would appeal to the Senators to suspend their travel plans by themselves rather than it being imposed on them.
Additionally, he stated that the lawmakers also reach consensus on suspending their travel in the event that they have numerous Bills to be discussed on the floor of the House.
“The Speaker cites that there are important businesses that have to be dealt with, so he urges that we do not travel so that we can dispense the Bill,” he disclosed.
During the interview, Wamatangi also refuted claims that Senators were blocked from travelling outside the country during the debate of the controversial Political Parties Amendment Bill.
He stated that some of the Senators were making a big deal of what he termed to be common in Parliament. However, he stated that a detailed investigation report by Speaker Kenneth Lusaka would authenticate claims made by Bungoma Senator, Moses Wetangula.
“The issue of the Senators being curtailed from travelling is being overplayed. I believe that if I go to the airport carrying my passport and present it there and it is valid and I have got a visa and a ticket, there is nobody who can tell me that I cannot travel,” he stated.
While addressing the House on Tuesday, January 25, Wetangula alleged that some of his colleagues were blocked from travelling to South Africa during the debate on the controversial Bill.
"Mr Speaker, the Senator for Kwale was traveling out of the country with his family. He was stopped and sent back home, they didn't travel," Wetangula stated.
