A recent scorecard released by Mzalendo has revealed that 19 Members of Parliament (MPs) did not participate in any debates within the National Assembly during the year 2024.
Mzalendo, a non-partisan Parliamentary Monitoring Organisation based in Kenya, advocates for transparency, inclusivity, and accountability in Parliaments across Kenya and the African continent.
The scorecard highlights that Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi and Makadara MP George Aladwa are once again among those who failed to engage in discussions within the house.
Among the 19 MPs identified, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party had the highest representation with 10 members, followed by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) with four, the Amani National Congress (ANC) with two, Wiper with one, DAP-K with one, and Jubilee party with one.
Additional MPs on the list include Rongo MP Paul Abuoro (ODM), Hamisi MP Charles Gumini (ANC), Kuresoi South MP Joseph Tonui (UDA), Kuria West MP Mathia Nyamabe (UDA), Subukia MP Samuel Gachobe (UDA), and Bahati MP Irene Njoki (Jubilee Party).
Mzalendo pointed out that these MPs were notably inactive in voicing public and constituent concerns, as well as debating issues of both local and national significance, which is a fundamental responsibility of parliamentarians.
The assessment was based solely on the frequency of individual MPs’ speeches in Parliament, as recorded in the official Parliamentary Hansard.
Mzalendo explained, “After compiling all the Hansards for a specific session from February to December, we generate speech counts for each member using our word-scraper, which tracks speech frequencies based on the Hansard entries.”
“To ensure accuracy in our rankings, we conduct a manual verification of the Hansard entries to confirm the automatically generated counts. This information is also presented on our website in a cumulative format.”
The rankings exclusively focus on plenary sessions, which are information that is easily accessible to the public.
Mzalendo noted in its report that “Information regarding committee proceedings is not as easily accessible. This limited availability complicates their inclusion in the rankings.”
The Parliamentary Scorecard is an annual assessment of the performance of Members of Parliament (MPs) from both the National Assembly and the Senate.
Initially published in 2014, this ranking is solely based on the MPs’ performance within Parliament, particularly during plenary sessions.
Engagements of MPs outside of Parliament are not taken into account.
Here is the Full List (Name, constituency, and Party):
1. Oscar Sudi – Kapseret (UDA)
2. Paul Abuoro – Rongo(ODM)
3. Irene Kasalu – Kitui (Wiper)
4. Charles Gimose Gumini – Hamisi (ANC)
5. Joseph Tonui Kipkosgei – Kuresoi South (UDA)
6. Mathia Nyamabe – Kuria West (UDA)
7. Samuel Kinuthia Gachobe – Sabukia (UDA)
8. Patrick Barasa Simiyu – Cherangany (DAP-k)
9. Paul Chebor Kibet – Rongai (UDA)
10. Dana Joseph Hamisi – Nominated (ANC)
11. Joseph Wanaina – Nominated (UDA)
12. Stephen Karani Wachira – Laikipia West (UDA)
13. Mohamed Soud Machele- Mvita (ODM)
14. Irene Njoki – Bahati (Jubilee Party)
15. Alfred Mutai – Kuresoi North (UDA)
16. Patrick Osero – Borabu (ODM)
17. Clement Sloya – Sabatia (UDA)
18. Barre Hussein Abdi – Tarbaj (UDA)
19. George Aladwa – Makadara (ODM)
