In 1997, Mr Musalia Mudavadi was virtually unable to read the budget over the din and chaos in the House sparked by controversy over the pace of constitutional and administrative reforms which were to precede that year's General Election. Irate MPs almost did the unthinkable - lift the mace from its traditional resting place and walk away with it, hence taking away the symbolic authority of Parliament.

Last year, it was Mr Simeon Nyachae's turn to suffer the indignity of having his speech disrupted by angry MPs again pushing a case for urgent constitutional reforms. It ended with Ugenya MP James Orengo being sent out and a host of others who supported him.

Mr Francis Masakhalia was this year not spared either although the disturbance was not as great as in the past years. The issue this time was anger that parliamentarians could sit there in the elegant ambience of the House listening to a fairly pompous delivery of a Budget many think is a waste of time while policemen battered and tear-gassed Kenyans who were protesting at the plan to return the constitutional review process to Parliament.

It was an understandable request which, as in the past instances, fell on deaf ears. It was brushed aside as being out of order and place. This may be technically true but morally and philosophically dishonest. The concerns being raised every day by the public, the media, religious leaders and civic society cannot be isolated at all from the business of the House.

The fundamental message really is that the irony of pretence - that it is business as usual in the House - is now unbearable for many of the MPs inside Parliament and for hundreds of thousands of Kenyans outside. The government is being told that the people's patience is running out, and more importantly, that they are ready to risk pain and injury to bring about change. Commands of order in the House may soon be overtaken by the reality of disorder outside and, we fear, the government no longer cares.

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