The Justice and Legal Affairs committee sharply divided on whether or not Mr Matemu and his deputy, Irene Keino, should be dismissed from office for alleged breach of the Constitution and abuse of office.
A parliamentary committee evaluating a petition seeking the removal of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chief Mumo Matemu on Tuesday failed to agree on his fate, even as the agency continues investigating cases facing 175 top public officials accused of graft.
The Justice and Legal Affairs committee was sharply divided on whether or not Mr Matemu and his deputy, Irene Keino, should be dismissed from office for alleged breach of the Constitution and abuse of office.
The committee, which was chaired by Nyeri Women Representative Priscilla Nyokabi, held a closed-door meeting to adopt the final recommendations of the report on the petition.
The team however failed to table its report in Parliament as expected after the stormy session that lasted over five hours.
Ms Nyokabi had a difficult time controlling members who expressed divergent opinions on whether to recommend Mr Matemu and Ms Keino’s dismissal or rejection of the petition.
She was at one point overheard shouting down Ruaraka MP Tom Kajwang as the deliberations hit a stalemate with journalists waiting outside the committee room.
The committee scrutinised a petition filed by Mr George Oriaro who claimed that Mr Matemu and Ms Keino had abused office and breached the Constitution in the course of discharging their mandates.
The petition was filed in the House a few days before President Uhuru Kenyatta tabled the list of top government officials, including five Cabinet secretaries, who are under investigation for corruption-related cases.
Mr Kenyatta then directed the five ministers named in the report- Charity Ngilu (Lands), Davis Chirchir (Energy), Felix Koskei (Agriculture), Michael Kamau (Transport) and Kambi Kazungu (Labour) to step aside pending investigations.
He also directed the EACC, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney- General to conduct and conclude investigations within 60 days from the date of tabling of the list.
Twelve Governors, a similar number of parastatal chiefs, two Senators, a principal secretary and several high ranking government officials were named in the dossier.
The EACC has since recorded statements from the five cabinet secretaries, Deputy President William Ruto’s chief of staff Marianne Kaitany and Transport PS Nduva Muli among others.
The committee is expected to table its report this afternoon before the expiry of the 14-day deadline for filing a report on the petition for the removal of a constitutional office holder.
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