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{
    "id": 1120627,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1120627/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 76,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": "In the exercise of our duty as the elected representatives of people, we have summoned the people concerned to appear before Parliament to give that explanation, and they have failed to do so. If you ask me, this is a matter in which there is nothing that has been placed before the House that can demonstrate that the CSs had any justifiable reasons not to appear before the Senate. If they have sent any such explanation, none has been brought to my notice. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there was a famous American jurist who said that the breakdown of law and order does not start by very serious breaches of the law. They start by little violations that end up polluting the public order and good governance. Therefore, this is not an idle matter. This is a constitutional violation. There are consequences of this in terms of what is required of public officers. If you look at the Article in the Constitution that defines who a public officer is, CSs qualify because a state officer is a public officer. All these laws, therefore, apply to them. Mr. Speaker, Sir, even in the old Parliament there were Committee systems, but they died. There was one time when the Public Accounts Committee, Public Investments Committee of the National Assembly and a joint Committee of National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations summoned the relevant ministers. In respect of the Public Accounts Committee and Public Investments Committee, they required what were called the big five. Sen. Wako will remember that there was a time that the big five were required to appear before the PAIC. The Executive at the time was very happy with the big five going to the Public Accounts Committee, but not to any other Committee of the House. The Ministers were summoned to the Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations. At that time, I think Koigi Wamwere was the chairperson. If I am not wrong, he was the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. The President at that time asked how Parliament could summon his Minister. He wondered how Parliament could summon his Minister. He said Parliament could not do such a thing. By that pronouncement, the Committee system died because by Executive fiat we were told that we could never summon a Minister."
}