Baringo North Member of Parliament Joseph Makilap has urged President William Ruto to publicly reveal the names of lawmakers and government officials allegedly implicated in bribery scandals, insisting that Kenyans deserve transparency in the fight against graft.
Speaking on Tuesday, Makilap said failure to disclose names only fuels suspicion and mistrust, warning that corruption within Parliament undermines its constitutional roles of oversight, legislation, and representation.
“We’ve even asked the President to name names of the members of parliament who are corrupt because we support the fight against corruption in Kenya,” Makilap said. “If there are some few elements within us that are corrupt, let the President, because he is a consumer of raw intelligence, bring forward the names of those with issues so they can be prosecuted before a court of law.”
His remarks come in the wake of President Ruto’s strong warning to legislators accused of soliciting bribes. During a joint parliamentary group meeting with MPs from UDA and ODM earlier this week, the President claimed some lawmakers had extorted huge sums of money from public officials.
He cited an incident where a governor allegedly spent Sh150 million to compromise senators and another case where a legislator pocketed Sh10 million to water down provisions of an anti-money laundering bill.
“Instead of shaming this person, we will arrest them,” Ruto said, vowing to act on intelligence reports linking MPs to bribery.
The claims sparked uproar in Parliament, with some legislators demanding evidence. Homabay Senator Moses Kajwang’, chair of the County Public Investments and Accounts Committee, said the President should provide proof before the Privileges Committee, reminding that even the Head of State can be summoned as a witness.
To back his anti-graft stance, Ruto has since unveiled an 11-member multi-agency task force under the State Department of Justice to coordinate investigations. The team comprises key bodies, including the EACC, DCI, ODPP, and KRA.
Makilap’s call adds to mounting pressure on the government to demonstrate political will in tackling corruption an endemic problem that has plagued successive administrations despite repeated promises to eradicate it.
