A study has revealed that fifteen members of parliament have not spoken on the House floor since taking their oath of office.
The 15 lawmakers who have not spoken include MPs who were singled out in prior scorecards of the 12th Parliament as having made no contributions at all, according to the Mzalendo Trust report, which is its first scorecard of the 13th Parliament.
“They include Oscar Sudi (Kapseret), George Aladwa (Makadara) and Samuel Arama (Nakuru Town West),” the report said.
The period covered by the 2023 Parliamentary Scorecard is from September 29, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
The study also included eight lawmakers who had yet to deliver their first House address.
“The members include Ronald Karauri (Kasarani), Mohamed Soud (Mvita), Paul Chebor (Rongai), Ernest Kagesi (Vihiga), Joseph Iraya (Nominated), Teresia Wanjiru (Nominated), Elizabeth Kailemia (Meru Woman Rep) and Muthoni Marubu (Lamu Woman Rep),” it added.
Others who have not spoken are Fred Kapondi (Mt Elgon), Charles Gimose (Hamisi), Feisal Bader (Msambweni), Innocent Momanyi (Bobasi) and Mohamed Soud (Mvita),
The report added that the most active members of the National Assembly were Makali Mulu (Kitui Central), Beatrice Elachi (Dagoretti North), James Nyikal (Seme) and Ken Chonga (Kilifi South).
It further noted that in the Senate, the top contributors were Samson Cherargei (Nandi), Eddy Oketch (Migori), John Kinyua (Laikipia) and Mohamed Faki (Mombasa).
The goal of the 2005-founded parliamentary monitoring group Mzalendo Trust is to support "open, inclusive, and accountable parliaments in Kenya and Africa."
A yearly ranking of the National Assembly and Senate Members of Parliament's (MPs) performance is known as the Parliamentary Scorecard.
The MPs' performance inside the Parliament, and more specifically in the plenary, is the sole factor used to determine the rating, which was first published in 2014. The engagements of MPs outside of Parliament are not taken into account.
The report said the most active youth MPs have been Gitonga Mukunji (Manyatta), Irene Mayaka (Nominated), Josses Lelmengit (Emugwen), Robert Basil (Yatta), Amos Mwago (Starehe) and Joshua Kimilu (Kaiti).
It named the least active youth MPs as Japheth Nyakundi (Kitutu Chache North), Zaheer Jhanda (Nyabari Chache) and Teresia Wanjiru (Nominated).
The report said the least active Senators were Mirah Abdullahi (Nominated), Joyce Korir (Nominated), Shakilla Abdalla (Nominated), George Mbugua (Nominated) and Issa Boy Juma (Kwale).
It added that the least active youth Senators were Chimera Mwinzago (Nominated), Hezena Lemaletian (Nominated) and Karen Nyamu (Nominated).
The performance is solely based on the number of times each MP speaks in the House of Representatives (speech counts) and as recorded in the Parliamentary Hansard, the official record of the House of Representatives.
The rankings now only include plenary proceedings, the details of which are easily accessible to the general public.
“Information on committees’ proceedings is not as readily available. The limited access thus makes it hard to incorporate them into the rankings,” Mzalendo Trust said in its report.
The aggregate rating does not apply to any MPs who hold positions of parliamentary leadership, which come with inherent privileges.
These privileges show themselves in their obligations, which force them to talk as a matter of course and need.
These positions include Majority and Minority side leaders, Committee chairpersons, Majority and Minority whips, and Speaker's Panel members.
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