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{
"id": 1083741,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1083741/?format=api",
"text_counter": 98,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Makueni, WDM-K",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Dan Maanzo",
"speaker": {
"id": 2197,
"legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
"slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
},
"content": "to act so, sometimes some justice may still fail to be done on the side of the Judiciary after they analyse the facts. You may find that whatever that governor was supplying fails and there was a need to stabilise the positions which are very important, so that the moment you are elected as governor or president, you are not watching your back at any given time. If there is political fallout, you are likely to constitute the necessary numbers for there to be an impeachment on any of those seats. That is why political rearrangements keep on happening and probably it becomes very expensive for a president or even a governor. On political hate, it is very easy to find faults with anyone who is serving in any of these positions, which may amount to breach of the Constitution, abuse of office or gross misconduct. The words “gross misconduct” are very ambiguous. There are so many incidents which may amount to gross misconduct even from a personal conduct. Even from Chapter 10 of the Constitution, one can easily be framed. It may even be a real story. Photographs have been put in place or when one is doing private discussion or joking, the matter might end up being taken as gross misconduct. So, there is every need to regularise this and frame it because the courts have been grappling around what a proper impeachment procedure should be. Although the mandate of the Senate is to deal with devolution, I can see they have come to a reign which started in the National Assembly and then served to the Senate. That is the impeachment of the President or the Deputy President. It can be done by the two Houses. It was very kind of them to also handle this. Probably, they would have chosen to deal with the devolved functions. However, you have again seen that the consequences of this amendment will also affect amendments in the County Government Act, so that a county government Act does not conflict with this new law which is being proposed. The numbers are specified in a case of the county executive; ministers or secretaries of the county. In fact, quite a number so far have been sacked by the governors. Other than recourse in court, which takes a long time, most of them just give up. The governor just simply drops you, either through a letter, or you become persona non grata to the county government meetings. There have been very many occasions which have resorted to impeachment. When the Senate reinstated the Deputy Governor of Machakos County who had been impeached, he went back to the county and he had no office. He did not have an official car, he did not have a salary and there was nothing he could do. So this particular law is very important. I believe at the Committee of the whole House, we should look at amendments which will make it better and seal any loophole which we have seen in practice, bearing in mind that this is a purely a political process and can affect anyone. For as long as the politicians are not on one side and mistakes can be found, this Bill will help the governors and the people dealing at that level not to breach the Constitution or not to do something which amounts to gross violation of the Constitution. That is subject to interpretation by the courts because I still think there is a leeway, whenever it happens, someone could still find themselves in court. I do not know whether the people who impeach have a recourse in court. If you move an impeachment motion and it fails, as it had been suggested in some judgment and as I have seen previously, does the court have a say on that particular matter or it is purely a matter of this House? I think it should be specified when we finally refine this law at the Committee of the whole House, so that it becomes a good product for use in the country, bearing in mind that anyone of us including you, will find themselves either President or Deputy President or governor at one point. When we make this law, we must know that we are also making it for ourselves. I thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I support."
}