Nairobi — A few weeks before Parliament went on recess, something ugly and unprecedented happened on the Floor of the House.

And this week, it was played out again at Parliament Buildings.

Three assistant ministers held a news conference on Thursday and fiercely tore into their ministers, accusing them of among other things incompetence, abuse of office and failure to delegate.

Public complaints by assistant ministers for youth affairs and sports, Mr Kabando wa Kabando and Ms Wavinya Ndeti, was not entirely surprising given it was the second time they were blasting their boss, Prof Hellen Sambili, openly.

Scathing attack

They were joined by their colleague in the Industrialisation ministry, Mr Ndiritu Muriithi, who launched an equally scathing attack against his boss.

This signals that even as President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga appear to have closed ranks and sought to rally their troops to push the Coalition agenda, there are still cracks at various levels of government that need to be addressed.

The three assistant ministers are aligned to PNU.

Mr Kabando and Ms Wavinya surprised colleagues when they accused Prof Sambili of running the ministry single-handedly, in her presence.

The controversy surrounding the renaming of Nyayo National Stadium and the recent appointment by the minister of the new chief executive officer of the Sports Stadia Management Board Mr Benjamin Sogomo are also some of the issues they raise.

They also accuse Prof Sambili of making "whimsical, petty and pedestrian decisions" on important matters.

In Parliament, Mr Kabando sought to "tell it as it is" as the minister battled a barrage of questions over the cancellation of a contract with Coca Cola over the renaming of the stadium.

He wanted it put on record that all was not well between the minister and her assistants.

While the spirit and principle of collective responsibility had made them follow one way the three had not worked together because of failure by minister to consult, said Mr Kabando.

"We need to be very candid, but we need to tell the House the truth. Indeed, she has not sought the assistance of her deputies," he said.

" If she had, we would be doing it in a better way,"

An agitated Ms Wavinya unsuccessfully sought the Speaker's eye, even after walking to the dispatch box, while her Minister was on the floor.

Her body language, told it all though --there was no love lost between the two.

Prof Sambili accused the two of unwillingness to take up responsibilities assigned by her.

And as they continued to washtheir dirty linen in public, Prof Sambili stated she was even ready to produce letters to that effect, and read a sinister motive in the accusations.

For instance, said the minister, Ms Wavinya had snubbed a meeting she had called, only to go on radio "to challenge me."

"Obviously, there is more than meets the eye," the minister concluded.

Associates of Prof Sambili, who is allied to ODM, says she reads party politics in all this.

Simmered for long

But her deputies insist the issues are real and that the discontent has simmered for long.

"These are not mere claims, we know they happened and you can verify," says Ms Ndeti.

That a month later such issues are still simmering and being played out in public raises questions why the coalition leaders are reluctant to act on their complaints, says Mr Kabando.

"If the ones who are supposed to listen to our grievances and sort them out have failed to do so, we have a right to let the people know what is happening," says the Safina MP.

Ms Ndeti says both the PM and the President are aware of the problems and need to act.

"I believe they are sensible people, they can see black from white," said the Kathiani MP.

Expressed frustrations

Mr Aden Duale, an assistant minister for livestock, acknowledges that while a number of their counterparts have expressed frustrations with their ministers, complaining publicly is not the way to go.

"It is not right and does not help for assistant ministers to go against the principle of collective responsibility to criticise ministers publicly," says Mr Duale, also the Dujis MP.

The should resign for breaking the trust bestowed upon them adds the ODM MP who says he is happy in his Livestock docket.

But Ms Ndeti retorts: "We just want things to be done the way they ought to be done... if we don't talk, then, who is going to talk?"

Ms Rugene is the Nation's Parliamentary Editor