NASA MPs walk out as Parliament debates Cabinet approval

National Super Alliance MPs on Wednesday afternoon staged a walkout as debate on the suitability of Cabinet Secretary nominees kicked off.

The opposition lawmakers rejected the nine Cabinet nominees insisting that they neither recognise Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidency nor his capacity as the appointing authority.

The House, however, only requires a quorum of 50 members to debate and vote to officially approve the Cabinet nominess and pave way for their swearing in which will be done on Friday, February 16.

Voting will be done through acclamation.

In an 83-page report tabled in the House on Monday, the Appointments Committee cleared the nominees, and termed them competent to undertake duties in their respective dockets.

The legislators can adopt the committee report in totality or reject it. They can also amend the report and decline the nomination of any Cabinet Secretary.

Jubilee MPs, during a parliamentary group meeting held at State House, Nairobi, on Monday, resolved to use their numbers in the House to push through the committee report, and pave the way for the nominees’ formal appointment by the president and subsequent swearing in on Friday.