Nyandarua Senator John Methu has urged Members of Parliament travelling to Addis Ababa for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson elections to cover their expenses.
The senator argued that using taxpayers' money to fund the trip would be an injustice to Kenyans.
Speaking on Citizen TV on Tuesday morning, he called on the government to refrain from allocating public resources to finance the MPs’ travel costs.
“I hope and expect that the 100 MPs accompanying Baba to Ethiopia are doing so at their own expense. We cannot afford to be extravagant,” Methu stated.
He questioned the necessity of having so many politicians on the trip, suggesting they might have no meaningful role in the process.
“Raila has his secretariat. In my opinion, the MPs have no significant role beyond the general support they already provide,” he said.
“It would be irresponsible for the government to send 100 MPs to Addis Ababa from tomorrow until Saturday just to idle around. These are the kind of expenditures that burden and hurt the people of Kenya.”
Reports indicate that politicians from various political affiliations including governors and senators are planning to travel to Ethiopia for the AUC elections.
During last year's Mjadala Africa debate, a host of MPs and governors accompanied Raila to Addis Ababa.
Kenya’s candidate for the AUC chairmanship is former Prime
Minister Raila Odinga, with the election set for February 15 during the
ordinary session of the Heads of State meeting in Addis Ababa.
Raila concluded his continental campaign last week and is currently in retreat ahead of his departure for the elections on Saturday.
He faces stiff competition from Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and Madagascar’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Richard Randriamandrato.
On Monday, while addressing ODM leaders and supporters at a special prayer session at Bomas of Kenya, Raila expressed confidence in the outcome, saying he would accept the results with grace.
"By God's grace, I know I shall win. If we are victorious, we shall celebrate, and if we lose, we shall still be winners,” Raila told his supporters.
The prayer session, organised by women affiliated with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), saw religious leaders present Raila with a crozier and a Bible as a symbolic gesture of his leadership aspirations.
Clergy members prayed
for his success, emphasizing his potential role in shaping the continent’s
future.
