Twenty-one Kenyan legislators who did not utter a single word in parliament in the last session have been named by an organisation that monitors parliament in the East African nation.

The list, compiled by Mzalendo, which means “Patriot” in Swahili”, is dominated by men, with 16 male MPs and one male senator failing to speak.

Of the twenty-one MPs, two – Oscar Sudi and Samuel Arama – have made zero contributions since 2017.

While some Twitter users have spoken in defence of said lawmakers, saying it mattered less if an MP failed to talk so long as they developed their constituency, others said the views of those who elected a politician needed to be represented in parliament.

Caroline Gaita, who heads Mzalendo, told BBC’s Newsday programme that the annual Scorecard report, which was released on Wednesday, looked at the quality of contributions to parliamentary debate in 2019.

She said it was a way of enforcing the social contract between the MPs and the electorate.

Kenyan MPs are among the most well-paid legislators in the world, earning more than $6,000 (£4,700) a month.

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