Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Gladys Boss has lauded the performance of National Assembly Committees, describing them as the “engine room of Parliament”.

Speaking during the National Assembly 3rd Leadership Retreat, Hon. Boss said Committees had demonstrated diligence in their role as representatives, holding 2,115 sittings, 820 meetings by Audit, Appropriations and General-Purpose Committees and 1,295 by Departmental Committees.

National Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Moses Wetang’ula has cautioned Members of Parliament against undermining public trust through unethical conduct and absenteeism.

He stressed that the credibility of the House depends on how well legislators uphold constitutional values and attend to their duties.

The Speaker was addressing MPs during the official opening of the 3rd Leadership Retreat of the 13th Parliament in Mombasa.

The retreat is themed: “𝐑𝐞-𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲”.

The Chairperson of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation, Hon. John Kiarie has called for the creation of a Parliamentary Office on Science and Technology to guide Kenya in navigating the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.

Speaking during the 3rd Leadership Retreat of the National Assembly in Mombasa County, Hon. Kiarie said the world is firmly in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, marked by machine learning, interconnected devices and advanced algorithms.

The Senate has set Wednesday August 27 and Thursday August 28 as the dates to hear and determine charges levelled against Governor Eric Mutai by the County Assembly of Kericho.

The House set the dates after it abandoned the Motion to set up a Special Committee to hear conduct the trial hearings against the Governor.

Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot had brought the Motion but it fell through after Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo refused to second it.

Ms Consolata Nabwire Wakwabubi has been sworn in as Senator, taking over from Ms Gloria Orwoba who was expelled from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) which had nominated her.

Ms Orwoba lost her seat in the House after UDA accused her of disloyalty and expelled her.

Her expulsion led to the nomination of Ms Wakwabubi, who was the next on the party nomination list.

On Wednesday, Speaker Amason Kingi presided over the swearing in ceremony, even as he congratulated the new Senator for her election and welcomed her to the Senate.