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{
    "id": 1160996,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1160996/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 262,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to congratulate and support the position that has been taken by the Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Budget, Sen. Kibiru, the Senator for Kirinyaga who is my good friend. The issue at hand raises very serious constitutional issues. When we were elected to this House, we lifted the Bible and swore before millions of Kenyans that as Senators, we will defend the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya. What we are being called upon to do as Senators is to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution of Kenya. We should not, for any one moment, send the wrong impression to the National Assembly that we do not enjoy direct mandate from the people of Kenya. All of us who sit in this House as Senators campaigned and got mandate from the people of Kenya. There are jurisdictions like in the United Kingdom (UK) where the House of Lords is made up of respected and experienced senior citizens who do not enjoy direct mandate from the people. Like other senates in other advanced democracies like the United States of America (USA) and Australia, we receive our mandate direct from the people of Kenya. This issue of the National Assembly thinking that they can dictate things to us should not be allowed to happen. Mediation is a very weighty issue. It is not a small issue because it has constitutional backing. It is a safeguard against misuse of power. Once a law comes here and it is send to mediation, what people who elected us as leaders to Parliament expect is for us to develop a version that is acceptable to the two Houses. Article 113 of the Constitution is very clear. It says if we do not arrive at a compromise, there will be consequences. Article 113 is not a flower girl in the Constitution. It was put there for a purpose and it is meant to safeguard misuse of legislative powers by either of the Houses. If you read many constitutions, even the conferencing in the USA between the Senate and the House of Representatives, it is not a small thing. It is a momentous issue that Senators and the Members of the House of Representatives must discuss and arrive at a compromise. That is what we expect. For us to have an ongoing process of mediation, and then we receive a Bill as if nothing is happening, that is a slap on our faces. We are being treated with contempt. As Senators, we should not cede our authority to the other House. In other jurisdiction like Australia, if there is a disagreement between the Senate and the House of Representatives, it can lead to the dissolution of the two Houses. It has happened many times in Australia. When the two Houses are not able to agree, they are dissolved and go to the people to seek fresh mandate."
}