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"content": "This is because, probably, the officers that work in the office of the Attorney-General or the Presidentâs office do not advise the President in good time. So, when Parliament makes a statement by making this kind of proposal, the Office of the President is expected to act within the law and in good time to assent and to enact it into law. About one month and a half ago, this same House approved the Indemnity Repeal Bill. We passed a resolution to amend the Indemnity Act, Cap.44 of the Laws of Kenya because it was retrogressive law. It has existed in our laws when it actually goes against the fabric of our Constitution. But to date one and a half months down the road, after Parliament, in its own collective wisdom, passed that important Bill, the President has not signed it into law. It then means we have to come back to the Floor of the House and remind the Executive about an important duty. This should have been done as a matter of procedure. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this amendment is so important because many times the Government has established Commissions of Inquiry in order to relax a situation. There is one I have in mind. In 2007, the President established a Commission of Inquiry to look into the grievances of the Muslim community. This was done just before we went for the 2007 General Election. That Commission went to every part of this country where Muslims reside. They went to many areas, including Othaya and Nyeri towns. Muslims had an opportunity to say their frustrations. The Muslim felt discriminated against. They felt marginalized in most parts of the country. It was apparent that this Commission created a lot of hope. What happened? Because the Muslims were up in arms and it was an election year, the Government established a commission and we saw it as a sign of good faith. Everybody celebrated that finally the Government was beginning to listen. But what happened? First of all, it was difficult for the Government to accept certain things the Committee said existed in the country, yet they did exist. So, the report together with the recommendations was shelved. We expected the report to be made public and the recommendations of the report to be followed by concrete actions of Government in order to solve the issues that were raised in that report. It took a Question to be brought to Parliament. Hon. A. Abdalla and I asked a Question in this House about that report. The Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security was compelled by the Chair to furnish the House with that report. But to date, the Minister had defied the ruling of the Chair. The reportâs recommendations have been shelved. Of course, we managed to get copies of what the report had said. But if Parliament was enjoined in that process, as we are suggesting here, then we could have had a parallel system of finding out how this report could be implemented through the Committee on Implementation. But here is a situation where Parliament is denied a role to play because of the manner in which this law was enacted. Therefore, we need to undo what we did as a House even though it was done in good faith. We should not trust everything that the Government says or take it at face value. In most cases, it has been used as a fire-fighting mechanism where the Government tries to investigate a certain situation and a commission of enquiry is established. After the political pressure, it is down to business as usual and nothing is done. That is why I appreciate this amendment. I urge the House to pass it quickly. After we pass it, I would like to remind the Presidentâs Office to follow up the resolutions of the House more critically than it has done. The office normally takes the resolutions that"
}