New plot by Jubilee to remove Ababu Namwamba from PAC

Barely ten days after surviving a no-confidence vote, Public Accounts Committee chairman Ababu Namwamba faces another concerted effort, this time by Jubilee MPs.

The MPs, under the direction of National Assembly Majority leader Adan Duale, have held a flurry of meetings to identify Namwamba's successor from among his fellow Cord MPs.

They want to have Namwamba replaced with Wajir East MP Abass Mohammed (ODM), in what observers see as an attempt by government to gain control of the crucial opposition watchdog through the backdoor. Mohammed is considered a moderate politician.

It is understood that Jubilee is determined to remove Namwamba from the powerful and influential opposition watchdog committee, regardless of the outcome of a Parliamentary Privileges Committee probe into corruption allegations in PAC.

Interviews with multiple MPs within Jubilee who have attended the meetings indicated a determination by the ruling alliance to kick out the firebrand legislator.

The meetings started last Tuesday night at a Nairobi hotel, with more than 20 MPs in attendance and recommendations that Duale moves a motion in Parliament to have the PAC suspended over graft claims filling the air.

On Thursday last week, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi suspended the activities of the crucial watchdog committee and ordered the House Powers and Privileges Committee, led by Kuresoi North MP Moses Cheboi, to investigate the claims.

The Star