HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, POST, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"count": 1608389,
"next": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=153293",
"previous": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=153291",
"results": [
{
"id": 1551112,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551112/?format=api",
"text_counter": 434,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I stand to oppose this Motion. Why do I say so? The issues we are canvassing here this afternoon have been longstanding since 2013 when we became a bicameral Parliament. We have been having these issues. I remember I was in the Parliament that was grappling with the idea of whether to seek opinion from the Attorney-General or scholars on what the mandate of the two Houses were. I am now very happy because the Supreme Court of Kenya has pronounced itself on this matter. These matters have been very clear from the word go. Anybody who could read the Constitution could understand Articles 94, 95 and 96. That is why, under the initiative of Hon. Chepkonga, this House decided to initiate a Bill that can at least demarcate the functions of the two Houses. However, apparently, the Senate, in their own wisdom or lack of it, decided to return the Bill with outrageous amendments that negate the whole purpose of the Bill. I remember vividly one time when Senators moved to court, dancing on the road. We were sitting here watching them on television. They were literally dancing. Hon. Naomi Waqo, the Deputy Whip of the Majority Party, says she was a Member of that Senate. They took 24 Bills that we passed in this House, danced on the road like people who had won an election or something, and went to court with the sole purpose and intention of demonising, intimidating and making the National Assembly look bad. Yet we knew very well, and we had clarity of mind, that the Senate had no role in those Bills. In the end, we got vindicated the other week when the Supreme Court made their ruling. Public resources were wasted in the litigation process. The functions of each Houses are now very clear, like the difference between day and night. Debate on the functions of the Senate and the National Assembly must end this afternoon. Going forward, the Senate must know that the Supreme Court has clarified what they are supposed to do. We had reached a level in this bicameral Parliament where the Senate was demanding that taxation, budgetary and money Bills must be referred to the Senate before they become Acts of Parliament. The Supreme Court has ruled with clarity that the Senate of the Republic of Kenya has completely no role in money Bills. They can only deal with the money county governments share among themselves through the County Revenue Allocation Bill. Anybody who read the Constitution properly knew very well that the Senate had no role at all in money Bills. However, they decided on their own volition to take the matter to court. First, they took it to the High Court, they lost. They went to the Court of Appeal, they lost. They went to the Supreme Court, and it has concluded the matter with finality. The Senate is supposed to deal with matters concerning counties while the National Assembly is supposed to deal with issues that concern constituencies. When the Constitution is very clear and you have been told you are supposed to deal with matters concerning counties, why do you want to infringe on other people’s work? If you feel that the Senate has no much work to do, in the next election contest in a constituency and come to the National Assembly to do a lot of work. Oversight of national organs is the mandate of the National Assembly. I see the Senate summoning the Kenya Pipeline Company and the Kenya Power Company. If I was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of that organisation, I would not appear before the Senate. You can send me as many summons as you want. We have to adhere to the Constitution. The Constitution has demarcated the boundaries. The Senate is supposed to deal with matters concerning the counties. Now that we have a Supreme Court judgment, I do not know what they are going to do. Whether the Senate has powers to annul the judgment of the Supreme Court, we will wait to see. It looks like the Senate has powers to do anything. They can even annul a judgment of a court."
},
{
"id": 1551113,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551113/?format=api",
"text_counter": 435,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I know our colleagues feel that they are supposed to do everything that the National Assembly does. Unfortunately, the Constitution is what guides us as a nation. Why are they shying away from dealing with issues concerning counties? We have 47 counties. The main 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": 1551114,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551114/?format=api",
"text_counter": 436,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
"speaker": null,
"content": "benefit Kenyans got from the current Constitution is devolution. If I was a Senator, I would be preoccupied with how to fortify and make devolution work. That is where the rubber meets the road. That is where Kenyans are supposed to be served. It looks like it is more lucrative to deal with national issues. You saw what happened last year: Every small national issue that came up and needed to be dealt with by the National Assembly was taken up by the Senate. It made the National Assembly look like it did not know what it was doing. We have been waiting for the Supreme Court judgment. That is why we were quiet. We were saying: Let the Supreme Court rule so that we know where our beacons are and how far we can go. We must have clarity in this country. Otherwise, even county assemblies will soon demand the work of the National Assembly or that of the Senate. Senators should do what they are supposed to do and confine themselves to the work they have been given."
},
{
"id": 1551115,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551115/?format=api",
"text_counter": 437,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Look at what they have done to this Bill. Hon. Chepkonga and company brought a Bill on bicameral relations to help in the smooth running of the business of Parliament. What have they done? Because they thought they were going to get a favourable judgment from the Supreme Court, they amended the whole thing in a manner that it becomes useless. I am very happy today because in my lifetime, before I leave this House, we know the functions of the National Assembly and the functions of the Senate. I want to read out verbatim what the Supreme Court: ‘The exclusion of the Senate from participating in the enactment of money Bills is not an anomaly but deliberate as it aligns with established legislative practices in other asymmetrical bicameral systems.’ That is the Supreme Court talking, not me. It has recognised the critical role of financial legislation in ensuring the smooth functioning of the State and the effective delivery of public services. Many constitutions prescribe specific legislative procedures for money Bills. These provisions are designed to avoid conflicts between the chambers of the bicameral Parliament and to prevent prolonged deadlocks over financial matters that could hinder governance and economic stability. What the Senate was trying to do was to hinder economic stability in this country by usurping the power of the National Assembly. In the last 10 years, what the Senate has been trying to do is what I would describe as a power grab. They wanted to grab the powers of the National Assembly. The power of the purse is with the National Assembly. I would have gone further to recommend that the Division of Revenue Bill does not need to go to the Senate. It is a money Bill by all intents and purposes. The National Assembly has been given powers by the Constitution to initiate all Bills, including money Bills and Bills concerning counties. Our brothers in the Senate cannot initiate money Bills anymore. They can only initiate Bills that concern counties. We can initiate Bills that concern counties and money Bills. We can originate Bills on taxation, appropriation and budgetary matters. All that belongs to the National Assembly. We are going to perform our duties professionally and diligently for the good of the country. We got to an extent where the Senate described us as the lower House. The Constitution prescribes our functions and it makes this House the upper House. When you do not have the power of the purse, how can you call yourself the upper House? In my view, to reduce the wage bill of the country, the Senate should meet quarterly to look at county issues. Four sittings in a year is enough for the Senate. You can sit three times every week, but there is no business to conduct. That then forces you to infringe on other people’s constitutional functions. Why can they not just sit once in three months to look into issues affecting the counties, audit their books, then go home and rest? Four times in a year is good enough for the Senate to sit. I am not saying that in a derogatory manner. I really mean it. That is how we will reduce our wage bill as a country. 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": 1551116,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551116/?format=api",
"text_counter": 438,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I never thought that such a day would come in this country. The Senate took 24 Bills that were passed by this House to court. The court only agreed with them on two Bills while the rest were declared constitutional. How much money do you think the Senate and the National Assembly have spent on litigation? A lot of money has been spent. Whose money is that? It is the taxpayers’ money. There was no need of taking those Bills to court. There should have been an amicable way to solve that problem. The two Houses could have sat and solved the issue. The court even stated that the concurrence that is required on Bills by the two Speakers should only happen when somebody raises it. If nobody raises it, there is no need for concurrence and the Bills can proceed. I know there are age differences in the memberships of the two Houses of Parliament. Senators may be older than us, but the Senate is not an African organisation. The Senate is a constitutional organ that performs its functions in accordance with the Constitution. Therefore, we should not bring in issues of African customs that demand we respect people who are older than us. Some Senators are young."
},
{
"id": 1551117,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551117/?format=api",
"text_counter": 439,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 16,
"legal_name": "Farah Maalim Mohamed",
"slug": "farah-maalim"
},
"content": " Give him additional two minutes."
},
{
"id": 1551118,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551118/?format=api",
"text_counter": 440,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Temporary Speaker, some of our colleagues in the Senate are young and vibrant. I beseech and advise them to vie for seats in the constituencies in the coming election. That is where work is. Hii nyumba ya wazee, achiawazee."
},
{
"id": 1551119,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551119/?format=api",
"text_counter": 441,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Laughter)"
},
{
"id": 1551120,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551120/?format=api",
"text_counter": 442,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Farah Maalim",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 16,
"legal_name": "Farah Maalim Mohamed",
"slug": "farah-maalim"
},
"content": " Order, Leader of the Minority Party. You cannot mix two languages in one contribution. You either use Kiswahili or English. You started in English, finish in English."
},
{
"id": 1551121,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1551121/?format=api",
"text_counter": 443,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Mohamed",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am using the term ‘ nyumba ya wazee ’ because I do not know how to describe ‘ nyumba ya wazee’ in English. What is it called? Is it the house of old men or the house of lords? There is no much work being done there."
}
]
}