HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1017220,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1017220/?format=api",
"text_counter": 333,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kieni, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kanini Kega",
"speaker": {
"id": 1813,
"legal_name": "James Mathenge Kanini Kega",
"slug": "james-mathenge-kanini-kega"
},
"content": "Hon. Speaker, I do not want to dwell on the merits or demerits of the advice. I want to dwell on the aspect of how that message was relayed. The Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya was supposed to proceed on terminal leave last month, but he decided not to go and instead cashed the leave days. In law, it might not have a lot of issues but you clearly know why you are supposed to go on leave, from the people who came up with work ethics and all that. Even here in Parliament we go on recess because we know for sure that your productivity diminishes the more you stay in a workplace without going on leave. Some of the results of fatigue is sometimes making irrational decisions. I do not want to say that this could be an irrational decision, but I am saying this as the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Each and every day, the Judiciary claims that we are not giving them enough money. They are saying that we are not giving them enough money, yet they have enough money to pay for leave days. I have an issue with that and it is an issue that we need to consider. If you lead by example, and instead of proceeding on your leave you decide to cash that money — and you know the salary of the Chief Justice is not 100,000 but in millions — for me, that is a concern. Secondly, this House is the one that vets the Chief Justice. If he makes good his promise that he will leave by January — though he said that he will still be in-charge — and in the unlikely event that this Parliament is dissolved, there will be no assembly to vet the Chief Justice. In essence, it means that the Chief Justice will continue serving. Could it be a ploy to extend his term by taking us home? But far from that, the import of what he said means that we will go for another general election, so to speak. The lawyers might say that it is not a general election but in essence, it is a general election because elections will be held in each and every polling station and stream. It calls for a budget and to be modest, it is about Ksh20 billion to Ksh30 billion. As the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee and based on the budget that I have seen, there is absolutely no provision for that allocation. So, where is that money going to come from? It has been said here that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is not properly constituted. So, who is going to undertake this election? Could it be that somebody somewhere wants to plunge this country into crisis? Some of the small things that we are saying might create a crisis in the country. Hon. Speaker, the Chairperson of Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and I took time and went to see the Chief Justice. We told him that we do not want to see him again in those stairs lamenting that they do not have money. If they have any issue, we told them to come to us. In essence, we were telling him — maybe we had foreseen this kind of situation — if he has issues with Hon. Members or the National Assembly, he should take time and come to see you. You are a head of an institution. In future, we need to change these titles because I think that is where the problem is. The Chief Justice is the president of the Judiciary or the Supreme Court. These are some of the things that we need to change because we give ourselves titles that give us some levels. We only have one President. You are the head here and you are the Chairperson of PSC. If the Chief Justice had issues, he should have consulted you. He should also have consulted his junior officers, like the other judges, because there are cases in court that have effect on this. So, from where I sit, I read malice. This advisory should be taken with the contempt it deserves and should be ignored. But we thank you, Hon. Speaker, for what you have done, taking that bold step and appealing to the same courts. I believe that the High Court will declare that opinion null and void. I thank you."
}