Kenya: We Are to Blame for Our Woes, Ex-MP Says

The East African Standard (Nairobi)
March 31, 2007
Patrick Mathangani
Nairobi

Former MPs have been told to stop grumbling since they are responsible for the poverty afflicting Kenyans today.

On Friday, Mr Gacuuru Karenge, himself a former MP for Kandara, said they failed to make policies that could reduce poverty.

"We who sit here are basically responsible for the problems in this country," Karenge told the more than 100 former legislators attending a meeting in Nairobi.

"We sit here saying that we should remain waheshimiwa while the majority of Kenyans are languishing in poverty," he said.

The two-day meeting has had former MPs complaining how they now lead miserable lives. They have also called for a law to be passed to give them a fat pension.

But Karenge, who gave a paper highlighting poverty levels in the country, told the former MPs not to burden Kenya with demands for money.

"We were very powerful. Some of us were very near State House. We were in a position to make good policies but we did not," he said amid protests from his colleagues.

He said: "We should not be lamenting. We should be sorry that we made others suffer." Politicians have failed Kenyans, he said, and advised that ODM-Kenya and Narc-Kenya would not help the situation.

Said he: "How do I move around with a Sh44 million limousine when I am MP for the biggest slum?"

At that point, the former MPs shot up in protest, saying it was wrong to blame them for Kenya's woes.

The Hummer debate also took centre-stage, with Mr Martin Shikuku saying remarks the vehicle cost Sh44 million were lies. He said he General Motors told him the most expensive one could not exceed Sh28 million.

"God hates lies. Lies belong to Satan," he said.

However, a former minister in President Jomo Kenyatta's government, Mr Nathan Munoko, said leaders had caused divisions in the country.

"As leaders, we have refused to grow up. Leaders keep telling lies," he said.

Dr Moses Misoi, former MP for Eldoret South, said most MPs had not performed.

"Even when we were in Parliament, how much did we do in villages to mobilise Kenyans to develop themselves?" he posed.

He said it was wrong for MPs to take charge of the CDF kitty since they would use it for campaigns.

Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister, Ms Martha Karua, said everybody should accept blame for what has gone wrong and work towards improving the lives of Kenyans.