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{
    "id": 578782,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/578782/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 217,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "organs of the State check one another within the times that would allow proper checks and balances. It never happens anywhere in the world. In fact, for us who are deep in constitutional law, it is something that hurts us very much. This jurisprudence is so settled. If you look at those cases I have spoken about--- There is a case of Hon. Musalia Mudavadi and cases of former Members of Parliament. Parliament always said: “No, we will not intervene until it is done.” That has been going on because we have judges who are testing the limits of the various constitutional powers. I am seeking to bring in another provision that a Member of Parliament shall not be liable and should not be made liable either criminally or in civil matters for exercising the functions of that office. Members of Parliament should have the liberty to do whatever they want to do, not fearing that there could be civil or criminal action against them. As we speak, there is a former Member of Parliament in a similar case. I do not know whether you know the case of Hon. Gor Sungu. He came into this House and said: “There was the murder of the former Foreign Affairs minister, a very popular Cabinet Minister of the Kenyan Government, which is something the people of Kenya are still agonizing about. Let us go to the depth of it.” He moved a Motion and this House created a Committee which was to investigate the murder of the late Dr. John Robert Ouko. Since Gor Sungu moved the Motion, it was him who chaired that Committee. So, Gor Sungu leaves the Committee and, within the precincts of Parliament, says:- “It appears, according to the evidence we have, there is a lead that another Kenyan outside there could know something about this murder.” Hon. Members, a defamation action was taken to court. I thought the High Court would have wanted to know the boundaries of Parliament and the capacity in which Gor Sungu was speaking. He was speaking as the Chair of a Committee investigating this matter of grave concern to the people of Kenya; that a Minister of Government can disappear and tomorrow his body is found burnt to ashes like some burnt grasshopper on the hills of his rural village. It is a matter of serious concern. The High Court never referred to the immunity this Member of Parliament needed to enjoy to be able to do his work. The High Court said Gor Sungu must pay Kshs3 million. An appeal was taken to the Court of Appeal and Gor Sungu said: “I was exercising my functions as a leader of the people and a person mandated to resolve issues of concern to the people together which my colleagues. It is a matter I deserve to comment on to inform the public in terms of the direction the investigations into this important matter was taking.” However, the Court of Appeal did not hear that. The fine was moved from Kshs3 million to Kshs10 million. Gor Sungu, whose only mistake was to serve the people of Kenya in terms of the leadership position he held as an MP, is out there. He has no other source of livelihood. He is living with undue difficulties. He has to pay Kshs10 million. That Kshs10 million has to be the basis upon which we calculate costs and interest going forward. Of course he appealed to the Court of Appeal to permit him to send the case to the Supreme Court, which is the last court, to deal with this issue about the immunity of an MP when executing his functions as an MP. What did the Court of Appeal say? It said the he has no leave to go to the Supreme Court. It insisted that the matter has been pending for too long and, therefore, he should pay. We have a situation where that Hon. Member, who had the bravery and courage to take up the matter that The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}