Kiambu MCAs yesterday fought in the chamber over a supplementary budget.
Chaos broke out after one of the MCAs threw a water bottle at colleagues opposed to the manner in which the supplementary budget was brought in the house.
Members shouted and hurled insults at each other, with deputy speaker Philip Mubea attacking Ndenderu MCA Solomon Kinuthia.
Kinuthia said the deputy speaker threw a punch at him and he retaliated. The other MCAs joined in the fray.
Speaker Stephen Ndichu’s efforts to bring the house to order failed, prompting the intervention of sergeants at arms. Some members sneaked from the chamber through the back door.
Before the afternoon session started, there was a clear indication of trouble as nominated women MCAs arrived in red outfits ready to pass the supplementary budget.
On Wednesday, members were in a heated exchange after the assembly committee on Budget and Finance was split into two separate committees.
The MCAs in the Budget and Finance committee questioned why the committee was split in a hurry. The committee had presented a report on the executive’s spending. The report said money was misappropriated and the county Finance chief and the Finance executive had failed to honour summons to explain.
Ndeiya MCA Gideon Gachara said the speaker used standing orders to intimidate members to okay the split of the committee.
Limuru East MCA Peter Ngige, who was the Budget and Finance committee chairman, accused the speaker of colluding with a section of MCAs to have the committee split “so it can be replaced by more friendly members who will not ask the executive questions on spending of money, and pass the supplementary budget bill with ease.”
Kiuu MCA Daniel Ngugi, who is the chairman ad hoc committee on Finance, introduced the supplementary budget document before some of the members stood and started shouting at the speaker “for allowing the document to be brought into the house without following the proper procedures.”
Kihara MCA Kabau Muthondu said there was no notice of motion in the order paper to introduce the supplementary budget.
“The Speaker is allowing breaking of house rules to introduce a document which has not followed proper procedures and we can not allow that. We read a sinister motive of passing a document that has misappropriation of public funds,” Muthondu said.
There were queries over the 2018-2019 budget, passed in July last year, over an additional Sh1.4 billion which had been included to Sh15 billion through the supplementary budget. There was no explanation how the money was spent.
In the supplementary budget, Sh356 million had been used in the controversial Kaa Sober programme for which the MCAs had not passed a budget.
The executive spent Sh1 billion in buying of assets which were not accounted for.
Edited by Rosemary Wangui
