No CDF, No Parliament: Kenya Kwanza MPs Stage Dramatic Walkout [VIDEO]

Members of Parliament (MP) on Tuesday, December 5 staged protests outside the National Assembly after walking out in jest, arguing that their grievances regarding the National Government Constituencies Development Funds (NG-CDF) were ignored despite intense lobbying.

The Kenya Kwanza MPs joined a team of opposition MPs led by Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi in demanding Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah to liaise with the National Treasury to have the funds released with immediate effect.

Speaking outside the National Assembly amidst chants of "No CDF, no Parliament", Nyando MP Jared Okello lamented that the government was prioritizing matters regarding the Executive and ignoring CDF, which the MPs considered important.

DRAMA as MPs Strike from attending Parliamentary proceedings….chanting ‘No CDF …No Parliament’. pic.twitter.com/NJVIlK80v9 — Seth Olale (@SethOlale) December 5, 2023

"The government is always supporting their Executive programs to the detriment of CDF. So what we are saying is that we have suspended all sittings, and all government businesses, until CDF is expended to our schools," the lawmaker affirmed.

"In January, new students are joining Form One. Some are continuing high school, so we are saying that they must provide money, now and not later." 

Meanwhile, Ichung'wah, in response, revealed that the matter would be addressed by Thursday when Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u would return to the country from the COP 28 event in Dubai.

His colleagues were however rattled, and countered by demanding that the funds be released immediately without having to postpone to a later date.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei struggled to contain an incensed House with MPs directing their boos and jeers towards Ichung'wah.

“Honourable members, you are denying yourselves, we are trying to establish when the Treasury CS can be here. Consult with the Majority leader because members are walking out before they hear the answer,” Shollei directed.

“Honourable members, you are denying yourself an opportunity for an answer.”

Ichung'wah noted that the matter would be addressed by Thursday, a matter which forced some lawmakers to walk out of the House, chanting "No CDF, no Parliament".

To make matters worse, the lawmakers demanded that the House not proceed with its normal business until the funds are released.

“When an issue comes when there is a conflict between a CS, a PS, a chair of a board and the people of Kikuyu, the latter takes greater precedence than anyone else and that is why I’m pleading with you to allow me to finish,” Ichung’wah stated amid backlash from his colleagues. 

The Kikuyu MP argued that the CDF issue was being treated as a priority as it had stalled operations within the counties, assuring the lawmakers that he would follow up on the matter with the Treasury CS on Thursday,

“What is bothering most of us is bursary funds. They must disburse at least 40 per cent of the funds before schools open," Ichung'wah compelled.

“He (Treasury CS) will be coming back to the country as he was in the COP 28 delegation and upon his arrival, I will provide an update.”

On Monday, January 23, over 200 MPs walked out of an induction seminar in a similar mass protest over the delayed disbursement of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) by the National Treasury, the second such walkout that the MPs had staged in that seminar.

The parliamentarians, representing all political parties, had sought Ksh10 billion from the Treasury while lamenting that the services at the Constituency level had stopped temporarily.

MPs storm out of Parliament on December 5, 2023. /PARLIAMENT OF KENYA