On Wednesday, Youth and Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba found himself compelled to apologize to Members of Parliament following a charged afternoon session.

Namwamba was also obliged to retract his letter wherein he had cast doubt on the legislators’ understanding of the alleged mismanagement in his ministry.

“May I therefore with a lot of respect withdraw the letter and unreservedly apologize to this house,” Namwamba said.

Kimani Ichung’wah – the Majority Leader in the National Assembly – presented a letter by Namwamba that accused lawmakers of relying on hearsay.

According to Ichung’wah, in its entirety, the letter exemplified an attitude of patronizing superiority with ulterior motives for Parliament’s oversight role.

“I am hired by the people of Kikuyu and the Kenya Kwanza alliance to lead them as the first among equals. When it comes to holding anyone to account, I will do so with energy just like the leader of a minority,” Ichung’wah said.

Speaker Moses Wetang’ula called on the former Budalang’i lawmaker to withdraw the letter and offer his apologies for what he termed as a letter drafted in “bad faith.”

The Cabinet Secretary also expressed his deep respect for the house and acknowledged that he fully subjects himself to its oversight functions.

Namwamba’s remarks were prompted by MPs’ concerns about the alleged abandonment of an athletics team that had been dispatched to represent the nation in Berlin.

Ichung’wah, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei all accused Namwamba of failing to discharge his duties.

“Every time they’ve landed, I have hosted them (athletes) because the CS is not bothered. The other day when our team went to Tunisia, they were wearing fake uniforms; knock-offs from River Road. There is something wrong with the management of sports,” Shollei hit out at Namwamba.