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{
    "id": 1368965,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1368965/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 144,
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    "content": "a small fraction of the Members of the party seems to be aligned with the Minority Party, while 21 out of the 28 Members of the party have expressed their unwillingness to be associated with the Minority Party. This has been done in writing. A definite question arises as to which Members’ interests Hon. Speaker should prioritise over the other, or whether Hon. Speaker should just accept the reality of the existence of these two factions and the parity of their interests. From the myriad of correspondence from the various claimants in the leadership of the Jubilee Party including Hon. Kioni, Hon. Kanini Kega, Hon. Samuel Arama, Hon. Joshua Kutuny and Mr. Nelson Nzuya, the cardinal message is the desire by the Jubilee Party to be recognised as a parliamentary party. It is for this reason inter alia that I previously directed the Minority Party - Azimio Coalition, and the Jubilee Party to sort out their issues within a period of 30 days. To date, the issues highlighted have not been sorted out. Neither have I received any communication from the leadership of the Minority Party. Hon. Members, in the initial letter from Hon. Arama seeking the recognition of the Jubilee Party as a parliamentary party, the Member for Nakuru Town West rightly observed that Article 36 of the Constitution of Kenya on the freedom of association and Article 38 of the Constitution of Political Rights confer upon each Member of the House the right to determine which entities they wish to be associated with and the right to make political choices. It, therefore, logically follows that the current uncertainty with regard to the affairs of the Jubilee Party does not bode well for the continuity of the business of the House and the full participation of the Members of the party in the House. Hon. Members, Standing Orders 20A governs the manner of recognising parliamentary parties and designating party leaders and whips in the National Assembly. From my reading of the Standing Order, it allows a party or a coalition of parties that is not the Minority or Majority Party to designate their leader, whip and deputy whip upon recognition as a parliamentary party. Whereas the Standing Order notes that the whips of such parties are appointed for purposes of the transaction of the business of the House, it is strikingly silent on the purpose to be served by having such a leader in the House. At the moment, I am of the considered view that apart from creating unnecessary confusion, allowing the existence of a leader other than the Leader of the Majority and that of the Minority Party would be an affront to the constitutional underpinning and recognition of the Majority Party and the Minority Party. Hon. Members who served in this House before the promulgation of the current Constitution and who are well versed with the parliamentary traditions, bear testament to the fact that a party that is not the majority or minority party in a presidential system or which is not in Government or the official opposition in a parliamentary system is normally afforded minimal facilitation by the House. At most, such a party is only entitled to a whip. Hon. Members, before making my determination on this matter, I would like to draw the attention of the House to a Press statement that was recently issued by the Leader of the Minority Party in the company of his deputy on this subject. I shall not reproduce the contents of the statement made by the Member for Ugunja, issued after the sitting of the House on Thursday last week because of their unpalatable nature. I will only note that it is unfortunate and highly regrettable that the Leader of the Minority Party chose to publicly cast aspersions on valid parliamentary processes even after he and his deputy had separately visited my chambers and held a very cordial discussion with me on this pertinent matter. The distinguished Members ought to have known that unlike the previous court orders in this matter, which will be validated through the e-filing system, the order for dismissal was manually extracted and served on Hon. Speaker by the Leader of the Minority Party. From our own records, there also existed doubt on whether the House was represented by counsel at the time the ruling was delivered. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}