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{
"id": 1384881,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384881/?format=api",
"text_counter": 847,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Central Imenti, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Moses Kirima",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Today, I decided to shift from my place to be near the Mover of the Motion before this august House. I support Hon. Bashir on the Motion before the House. There are a number of issues in the Constitution that require to be attended to. There was a lot of agitation and activism from various bodies which was put into this Constitution. It thus needs a sober mind now to be looked into as it is being moved. Hon. Temporary Speaker, if you look at the constituencies that are enlisted as protected constituencies, as has been said by my colleague earlier, there is no way one can go back and say that a certain constituency does not exist due to lack of the threshold of the population required for it to exist. When it was being done, the initiators of the same did not consider the future of this country. It has become a norm where each and almost every Member is rushing to create a sub-county, so that it will be created as a constituency at the end of the day. People think that a sub-county these days is equivalent to a constituency, which is not the case. In some cases, the population does not allow. We need to consider the contradictions in the Constitution as it is. There are a number of contradictions which are there, especially when it involves the characters of the citizens, the existence of the constituencies, the manner in which they were created, and how citizens are supposed to be beneficiaries of this Constitution. The Constitution is not cast in stone, it is supposed to be dynamic to the extent that it should be solving the problems that reflect the needs of the people and not just activism. I, therefore, support. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1384882,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384882/?format=api",
"text_counter": 848,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": " The Hon. Joshua Kimilu."
},
{
"id": 1384883,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384883/?format=api",
"text_counter": 849,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kaiti, WDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Joshua Kimilu",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important issue. I thank the Member of Parliament who has come up with a memorandum on protecting these constituencies. It is very important now. This is the right time to protect the constituencies that do not meet the threshold from merging with other constituencies since this will inconvenience people from those constituencies. The population is also growing, and as time goes by, these constituencies will be in a position to meet the threshold. In Makueni, we have Kilome Constituency, which is protected. The Techno City is built there. In a period of two to five years, the population will shoot. That constituency will have more population than those with four or five wards. It is a good idea that this constituency should be protected. I support, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1384884,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384884/?format=api",
"text_counter": 850,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": " Very well. Let us get some insights from the Chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee."
},
{
"id": 1384885,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384885/?format=api",
"text_counter": 851,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. These are two legislative proposals brought by individual Members of Parliament to amend the Constitution so as to align it with the immediate problems that we have in the country. I have gone through the two proposals and I must admit, I find them very well thought 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"
},
{
"id": 1384886,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384886/?format=api",
"text_counter": 852,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
"speaker": null,
"content": "out. In fact, we should be moving with speed to enact this into law so that we do not face the circumstances that we are faced with. To begin with, we do not have any IEBC commissioner. Therefore, even if this House comes crumbling down and we all go to meet our Maker, God forbid, the constituencies will not get Members of Parliament unless the law is amended. We will be told that there are no commissioners of IEBC to conduct the by-elections. I am curious what IEBC commissioners do when it comes to running by-elections. Administrative matters are handled by the CEO, who is the Secretary to the IEBC. A by- election is a mini-election. It is not even a small general election as it happened in 1966 when Members of the Opposition crossed over into the ruling party. The truth is that a by-election can comfortably be run by the CEO of the IEBC, who is the Secretary. Therefore, it behooves this House to amend Article 88 of the Constitution and bring in that proposal, which is now on the Table of the House, that where the Commission is not fully constituted, the Secretary to the Commission, who is also the CEO, will perform the functions of the Commission related to the conduct of a by-election under Article 101 of the Constitution. Currently, Banissa Constituency does not have a Member of Parliament. It is totally unfair, unjust, and unconstitutional for people to remain for more than eight months, or whatever number of months, without representation in this august House. We should favorably consider this proposal. We never imagined that we would go for more than one year without commissioners of the IEBC after the expiration of the terms of the previous commissioners. It is now almost a year-and-a-half. However, here we are. This is a problem which we must address today. Therefore, Major (Rtd) Bashir, as other constitutional proposals are brought to this House, whether through the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) or whatever door, please insist that this constitutional amendment also comes to the House. We know the problems that we experience with constitutional amendments. One cannot muster the numbers. There is a possibility that we will muster the numbers with regard to the proposed amendments by the NADCO. Your proposal should also be included so that we muster the numbers, pass it, and cure a recurrent problem in this country. Thank you, Major (Rtd). Hon. Alice came up with an excellent proposal. You cannot take away the people's vested rights. The people in protected constituencies have vested rights in those constituencies. They have enjoyed constituency rights for the number of years that the constituencies have existed, including the NG-CDF, employment, and representation in the House. Therefore, their rights have accrued. There is no way that this House can approbate and reprobate at the same time. As we speak for the constituencies, we must also speak for the protected constituencies. My view is that we should remove that protection by saying that we have 290 constituencies. No constituency will be mentioned with or without protection. They are all substantive constituencies. We will look at that provision and see whether we must protect them, extend the protection, or remove it so that no constituency is termed as a protected constituency. The citizens in those constituencies are waiting out there, whether in Nyeri or Kilome, which has also been mentioned. The citizens in those constituencies would never accept their removal. The constituents are vested in those constituencies and they expect all the rights that appertain to constituencies in terms of representation, like all other constituents. I know that the matter will come before the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. We will conduct public participation, but I can almost bet that the ideas that we have shared today are the same ones that Kenyans out there have as regards the IEBC, by- elections, and protected constituencies."
},
{
"id": 1384887,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384887/?format=api",
"text_counter": 853,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 13328,
"legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
"slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
},
"content": " Hon. Abdul Haro."
},
{
"id": 1384888,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384888/?format=api",
"text_counter": 854,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mandera South, UDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Abdul Haro",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important debate. 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"
},
{
"id": 1384889,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384889/?format=api",
"text_counter": 855,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mandera South, UDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Abdul Haro",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I will start with the protected constituencies. I support the proposed constitutional amendment by Hon. Alice. It is timely and most welcome. Under no circumstances should those protected constituencies be lost. In fact, looking at the way this country's population is growing, we should consider increasing representation through more constituencies so that more Kenyans are represented. We should not lose the already protected constituencies. With regard to the constitutional amendment by Hon. Major (Rtd) Bashir, I come from Mandera County, and I know the consequences of a constituency staying for one whole year without representation. We have been grappling with what to do with the constituents of Banissa Constituency since we lost Hon. Kullow Hassan in March last year. We are now in March 2024, one year down the road. Every time we distribute bursaries to students in our constituencies, students from that constituency keep coming to ask to be accommodated. The constituents of Banissa want development. They want classrooms to be constructed and their NG-CDF to be put to use so that they can also enjoy development like other constituencies. However, this has not been possible for the last year because of the lack of a vision carrier, who is usually a Member of Parliament. The Banissa Constituency seat became vacant effective 29th March 2023, when it was declared so in a Kenya Gazette Notice of 20th April 2023. One year down the road, the people of Banissa are still waiting to elect their Member of Parliament despite the fact that the law states that when such a situation occurs, a by-election should be conducted in 90 days. Those 90 days lapsed in July 2023. The reason why we have not had these elections is because we do not have commissioners, just as everybody here has mentioned. We had not envisioned such a situation as a country. Article 99 of the Constitution provides for 290 constituencies, where a Member is elected under Article 97(1)(a) of the Constitution. These provisions of the Constitution have undoubtedly been violated for the last year because Banissa Constituency has remained without a representative for that period. We all know that there is no judicial determination on whether the IEBC Secretariat can conduct a by-election. This is why the constitutional amendment by Hon. Major (Rtd) Bashir is very important so that it can cure this problem. He proposes that when we find ourselves in the situation that we are currently in, the Secretary to the Commission, who is the CEO of the Commission, can conduct a by-election. This speaks to the arguments that we heard in the Supreme Court during the Presidential Election Petition. One issue that arose is whether the Commission is made up of the commissioners alone or it also includes the staff of the IEBC. This amendment will partly resolve that matter which came up in the Supreme Court during the Presidential Election Petition. One may wonder why the secretariat cannot conduct by-elections in the first place. Every year, we keep providing a budget for IEBC, and we have not stopped because there are no commissioners. They are spending and this means whatever we are budgeting for them has no value for money. This is because they have folded their hands and are saying they cannot conduct a by-election because there are no commissioners. This amendment by Major Bashir is timely and most welcome. If it goes through and I hope Members will fully support it, the CEO can conduct an election because elections are conducted by Returning Officers. We do not have vacancies in the Returning Officers positions. They are there together with the staff of the Commission. It is only a matter of having a law to allow the CEO or the Secretary to the Commission, gazette those contesting and conduct an election. In the circumstances where the commissioners are fully in-house, the secretary can revert to his or her original role without having any problems. The question about this amendment should only apply in circumstances, like where we are in today with no commissioners in office for whatever reasons. I hope this will be expedited to alleviate the 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"
},
{
"id": 1384890,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1384890/?format=api",
"text_counter": 856,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mandera South, UDM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Abdul Haro",
"speaker": null,
"content": "suffering of the people of Banissa and all the other wards where by-elections are supposed to be conducted like Kisa East Ward in Kakamega which is also suffering the same fate. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}
]
}