OPINION: Beyond State House - Why Kenyans must scrutinise Parliament in 2027

Every five years, we - the people - go to the ballot to choose men and women to represent us in various elective positions. Yet our attention is usually fixed on the presidency, even though there are another 1,881 elective seats that are just as important.

Out of those 1,881 seats, we elect 384 men and women to one of the most important institutions in our democracy: Parliament. While some parliamentarians have remained steadfast, the 13th Parliament as an institution has failed in two of its most important duties: representation and oversight.

At the moments when Kenyans most needed Parliament to stand between them and Executive power, too often Parliament stood with the Executive. It has acted as a partner in crime to a President with a seemingly insatiable appetite for Kenyans’ hard-earned money, even amid tough economic times.

President William Ruto came into office promising to reduce Kenya’s reliance on borrowing. Kenyans were subsequently asked to endure higher taxes and make enormous sacrifices partly because we were told the country needed to live within its means. But this was just a political justification to raid Kenyans’ pockets, because the debt has kept growing, and it has actually grown by more than Ksh.4 trillion in less than five years.

While this economic injustice is happening, where is Parliament? A Parliament serious about oversight should not merely approve the annual budget and borrowing required to finance it. It should relentlessly interrogate why the deficit persists, what every new loan is financing, whether borrowed money is producing value for Kenyans, and whether the sacrifices demanded of taxpayers are actually reducing our dependence on debt.

The 13th Parliament ought to have protected Kenyans from the demand to tighten our belts yet those in the Executive continue to live in opulence and can’t account for our money. Yes, our money. The Auditor-General continues to surface anomalies in how public money is managed, and if the 13th Parliament had any teeth, it could have demanded that the previous queries by the Auditor-General be resolved first before approving another raid on Kenyans’ pockets.

Arguably, the most damning indictment of this representative betrayal occurred on June 25, 2024. As citizens flooded the streets to demand the Finance Bill's rejection, our representatives drove past those very protesters in air-conditioned fuel guzzlers to cast their votes in favor of the legislation, ignoring the public outcry right outside their doors.

This singular event laid bare the profound disconnect between Parliament and the electorate it is sworn to serve.

Parliament was never intended to function as a mere rubber stamp for the Executive branch or a secondary office of State House. It must exist as a sovereign pillar of our democracy, dedicated to articulating the people's will, crafting laws, and providing a necessary check on governmental authority.

With the approach of the next general election, it is imperative that we as citizens look beyond the race for State House and turn a critical eye toward the broader field of candidates.

The performance of our legislative representatives requires a rigorous audit.

We must ask: did they truly speak for the people, or did they allow the national coffers to be plundered without objection? Did they relentlessly track the utility of our taxes, interrogate the surge in sovereign debt, and ensure the Auditor-General's findings were acted upon? Crucially, when the moment of truth arrived, did they stand with the Kenyan people?

As we prepare to head to the ballot box in a year's time, we must exercise our mandate with greater discernment.

While a President without restraint poses a grave threat to our democracy, the peril is magnified when we are saddled with a legislature that abdicates its responsibility to provide that essential check.

A Parliament that chooses silence over oversight is just as hazardous to the future of our nation.