Kenyan senators have demanded that President William Ruto appear before Parliament to substantiate explosive claims that legislators have been soliciting multimillion-shilling bribes.
The Senate’s Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Moses Kajwang of Homa Bay, invoked Article 125 of the Constitution, which grants Parliament the same powers as the High Court to summon any person to testify.
Kajwang said the President could not continue making sweeping statements without presenting evidence.
“You cannot try Parliament in a kangaroo court. If the President has evidence of Senators or MPs receiving Sh150 million from Isiolo, or Sh10 million to block the anti-money laundering bill, let him bring that evidence here so that the law can take its course,” he said.
Ruto’s remarks on Monday, alleging that unnamed lawmakers had demanded huge payoffs from both county officials and the Treasury, provoked an uproar. Senators insisted that such accusations undermined Parliament’s credibility unless backed by facts.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna accused parliamentary leaders of failing to protect the institution. “By now, I expected statements from our Speakers defending the dignity of Parliament. Our Speaker is nowhere to be seen,” he said, adding that lawmakers had been left vulnerable to public suspicion.
Kitui Senator Enock Wambua warned that continued silence from the leadership could force drastic steps. “It cannot be that everybody who wants to invade Parliament has a free day. The Speaker must draw the line,” he said.
Kajwang challenged Ruto to take action rather than lament. “As a consumer of raw intelligence and as a person with power to direct investigations, Kenyans expect the President to act, not to bemoan like any other common person,” he said.
The row adds to mounting tensions over claims of multimillion-shilling inducements linked to bills and impeachment motions in recent months.
