Why Speaker Wetangula has ordered fresh debate on Tea Bill
National
By
Irene Githinji
| Jun 08, 2026
National Assembly's Speaker Moses Wetangula at the Parliamentary Sitting after the long recess at Parliament, Nairobi. January 16, 2025. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has ordered fresh consideration of the Tea (Amendment) Bill, 2023, after finding that Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe participated in the debate on the legislation without declaring interests in companies linked to the tea sector.
The ruling followed a complaint by a Nyeri tea farmer, who questioned the integrity of the parliamentary proceedings and sought to have them declared null and void.
In a communication to the House, Wetang’ula said his office had received a letter alleging that Kagombe failed to disclose that he was a director of Theta Tea Factory Company Limited, KTDA Holdings Limited and Majani Insurance Brokers Limited while contributing to the debate.
The complainant argued that the operations of the three companies were directly affected by provisions in the Bill and that the MP’s participation without disclosure undermined the credibility of the proceedings. “The complaint was accompanied by company records showing Kagombe as a director of the three entities as of January 2026,” the Speaker said.
Wetang’ula cited the Constitution, the Conflict-of-Interest Act, 2025, the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act and the National Assembly Standing Orders, all of which require MPs to declare interests that may influence their parliamentary duties.
He noted that Kagombe had disclosed his directorship in a tea-sector company during deliberations before the Departmental Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, where he serves as a member.
However, the Speaker found that the MP failed to make a similar declaration during proceedings of the Committee of the Whole House on March 12, when lawmakers debated provisions relating to the governance, management and oversight of tea factories. “The contributions were substantive and directly related to the provisions under consideration. Without delving into the merits of Kagombe’s contribution to the debate and its possible influence on the amendments considered, the Member’s failure to declare his obvious interest casts doubt on the probity of the deliberations,” Wetang’ula ruled.
He added that failure to address the matter could cast future decisions on the legislation in an unfavourable light and raise concerns about whether a declaration of interest might have influenced the House’s consideration of the Bill.
Consequently, the Speaker directed that the Committee of the Whole House stage of the Tea (Amendment) Bill be conducted afresh and that proceedings undertaken on March 12 should not be relied upon when the Bill returns for consideration.
The ruling effectively resets the Bill at that stage, allowing MPs to revisit amendments without reference to the earlier debate.
Although Standing Order 107A classifies failure to declare personal interests as disorderly conduct, Wetang’ula opted against imposing a harsher sanction on the first-term legislator. “I will assume he was not aware that, despite declaring his interest before the Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, he was still required to declare the same interest in the House during consideration of the Bill,” the Speaker said.
Leader of the Majority Party Kimani Ichung’wah supported the ruling, describing it as necessary to protect the dignity and credibility of Parliament. “The fact that Kagombe had a pecuniary interest in the tea sector means he ought to have declared his interest,” said Ichung’wah.
He warned that the incident should serve as a lesson to lawmakers with financial interests in sectors affected by legislation, including the forthcoming Finance Bill.
The Tea (Amendment) Bill will now return to the Committee of the Whole House for fresh consideration before proceeding to the next stage of the legislative process.