Several Members of Parliament found themselves stranded on Monday, May 12, after they were locked out of their offices at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) due to unpaid rent, Newshub.co.ke has established.
The lawmakers were unable to access their workspaces because the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) had not cleared rent arrears exceeding Ksh50 million. This lockout came despite earlier efforts by the PSC to resolve the issue.
Just days before the lockout, the PSC had reached out to KICC management, appealing for the MPs to be allowed to continue using their offices while the commission worked on settling the outstanding payments.
The appeal was made through a formal letter, in which the PSC assured KICC that it was actively trying to raise the necessary funds before the end of the current financial year, which concludes on June 30.
“The PSC is in the process of mobilising funds to pay off the pending amount before the close of the financial year.
In light of this, we kindly request that Members of Parliament be permitted to access the KICC offices and the COMESA grounds without restrictions,” stated a letter signed by Clement Nyandiere, the Accounting Officer.
Nyandiere emphasized that the PSC and KICC have maintained a strong working relationship over the years, which he believed should have been enough to earn the commission a grace period to finalize the payments.
He further explained that delays in disbursements from the National Treasury and other budgetary challenges had affected their ability to pay on time, although he reassured KICC that the PSC had always honored its rental obligations eventually.
In his letter, Nyandiere also referred to previous arrears that had been fully paid. He noted that the PSC had recently cleared a total of Ksh134 million in rent, which included Ksh73 million for the 2023/2024 financial year and an additional Ksh61 million covering rent up to December 2024 in the current financial year.
This letter was also copied to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, who serves as the chairperson of the Parliamentary Service Commission, for further deliberation.
As of now, it remains unclear how many MPs were affected by the lockout. However, records from April 2024 show that over 40 MPs had been allocated office space at KICC.
Other lawmakers operate from Bunge Towers, while those who missed out during the office allocation process at Bunge Towers were given alternative space at Harambee SACCO Plaza.
By the time of publishing this story, the situation was still unfolding, and the future of the affected MPs’ office access remained uncertain.
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