Kasarani UDA parliarmentary aspirant “Mtu Kazi” Benard Mabonga Waliuba…Photo/IP
By James Saisi
WEBUYE, Kenya
“Mtu Kazi” movement leader Bernard Waliuba has questioned where National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula derives the powers to command police officers to arrest citizens on the spot.
The UDA aspirant for Kasarani said that the Speaker appeared to momentarily assume the roles of legislator, police commander and judge all at once.
The criticism follows an incident during an interdenominational prayer meeting in Webuye where Wetang’ula publicly warned a rowdy youth who was wearing a military-style cap and disrupting the gathering.
“You young man in a military type cap, be orderly or else I will call the police to arrest you now,” the Speaker said during the service.
Waliuba, a member of the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) who is contesting the Kasarani parliamentary seat, said the remark was troubling and suggested a worrying misunderstanding of how the law works.
“The order from the Speaker is wrong and a sign of impunity,” Waliuba said. “Police officers arrest people based on the law and the offenses committed, not because a powerful leader points a finger and commands it.”
He added that if such examples are normalized, other leaders may soon begin issuing roadside arrest orders of their own.
“The example given by the Speaker is bad as it may spiral down to other leaders who may use it to propagate arbitrary arrests, abductions and killings of citizens using the police without due process,” Waliuba said.
He said he would seek clarification from President William Ruto on whether such conduct reflects the position of leaders within the ruling coalition.
Waliuba also urged the Speaker to focus on legislative work and allow institutions tasked with law enforcement and justice to do their jobs independently.
“Parliament makes the laws, police enforce them and courts interpret them,” he said, adding with a hint of sarcasm that combining all three roles at a prayer meeting might be “a bit too efficient for a democracy.”
The prayer service was held in memory of 15 people who died in a grisly accident at Malaha along the Webuye–Kitale road after motorcycles collided and a trailer rammed into bystanders who had gathered at the scene.
During the same event, Wetang’ula urged National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah to expedite legislation introducing stiffer penalties in the Traffic Act to punish motorists who misuse roads and cause fatal accidents.
