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{
    "id": 543249,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/543249/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 77,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Cheboi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 329,
        "legal_name": "Moses Kipkemboi Cheboi",
        "slug": "moses-cheboi"
    },
    "content": "into, but most important was whether there was breach of privilege and\\or code of conduct by the membership of the PAC. We found that there was breach of the same. However, not all Members were involved. We indicated the ones who were involved in no uncertain terms. We indicated the punishments that were to be meted out against the five of them. Secondly, we looked into what sanctions would apply for that particular breach of privilege. Somewhere in the Report, I will indicate what we, as the membership, thought we should engage as a sanction against the breach of privilege. Along the line came an audio recording tabled by hon. Ababu Namwamba. It was our duty to consider whether to admit it or throw it away. As we deliberated, we were guided by the Evidence Act and we discussed it at length. Eventually, as I will be showing the House, we decided that it was not going to be admissible on the basis that there were a lot of contradictions. In terms of evidence, much as it was going to be of some value, we did not consider it as having been done in a manner that was professional to allow the Committee to take it as part of evidence. I will briefly tell this House what the Members of the Public Accounts Committee told us. When the Chairman of the Committee came before us, what he said is at Page 44 of our Report. I will quote just a small section and Members are free to read the rest. He said that the Powers and Privileges Committee should not pass group judgment on the PAC Members. Each individual should bear their own responsibilities. The PAC has some of the finest Members in the National Assembly and it would be a terrible injustice for them to suffer on behalf of others. On that, we agreed with him. Therefore, we did not mete out sanctions against everybody. We only did it against those we thought had abused privilege. I am saying all this because it is supposed to be clear to the membership of the House that we reported exactly what we derived from the membership of the PAC, and what we found out as we did our investigations. When the Vice-Chairperson of the PAC, Hon. Cecily Mbarire, came to the Committee, what she said is at Page 46 of the Report. In her opinion, the PAC has lost the moral authority to adequately play its watchdog role due to the nature of allegations made against its membership. That is in Paragraph 96. On the other side, she said that the allegations that the Chairman ran the PAC like a private property had merit. Let us go to the next Member; hon. Anyanga. He appeared before the Powers and Privileges Committee twice. The Chairman had opportunity to appear before the Powers and Privileges Committee thrice. It is important for everybody to understand that we were doing this Report on the basis of what came before us. At Page 51, Paragraph 114, hon. Anyanga said that in his opinion, the PAC, as presently constituted, cannot work together following the claims of bribery and bad blood between its Members. When hon. Ibrahim Abass came before the Committee, what he said is at Page 53. Among other things, he said that in his opinion, the problems in the PAC revolved around hon. Ababu Namwamba, who had sucked in other Members of the Committee and the House into his own problems. That tells us the difficulty that is within this particular Committee. When hon. Bett came before us, and I am also quoting him at Page 56, he said in brief that the leadership of the PAC should be disbanded. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}