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{
    "id": 1479814,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1479814/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 464,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Osotsi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13588,
        "legal_name": "Osotsi Godfrey Otieno",
        "slug": "osotsi-godfrey-otieno"
    },
    "content": "of the Bills that emanated from the NADCO Report that was a product of bipartisan negotiation between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio. This is the right step and I hope all the other Bills which are pending before this House are also fast-tracked so that we avoid the mischief that is beginning to show itself out, where people are now coming up with amendments, even proposed amendments to the Constitution, on matters which are already included in the NADCO Report. I know Sen. Cherarkey has just left the chamber, but I want to tell him that the proposed amendments he is bringing to the Constitution are some of the issues that have been processed in the NADCO Report. I think it is important for him to consult more and wait for the full implementation of the NADCO Report, rather than jumping the gun, as we have seen in his amendments. This Political Parties Bill, (Amendment Bill) (No. 2) of 2024, seeks to do one thing, to entrench the Independent Political Party Regulatory Commission in the Political Parties Act. I find this to be very progressive because in the current arrangement, we have the Registrar of Political Parties, who is supposed to make decisions but most of the time, the Registrar is not independent at all. She is not independent at all. I want to say this without fear of any contradiction, that I have been a victim of that office. You have been the secretary general of Jubilee Party. The decisions that are made by the Registrar of Political Parties are politically motivated. We cannot have a scenario where we have one individual who is there as the Registrar, but in most cases, does not follow the law. He follows the political dictates of the day and also the directions he is given. In the last Parliament, I served as a nominated Member of Parliament and as the secretary general of the Amani National Congress (ANC) Party. However, when I started having trouble with the ANC party for my stand on issues, I was taken through a very rigorous, sad and straining process of having to go to court seven times largely because the Registrar of Political Parties was not following the law. He was following the political direction that he was given. Luckily, in all those seven cases, I won. I am happy that because of my need to survive then, I have now been cited in very important jurisprudence on matters of political parties in this country. Even Sen. (Prof.) Ojienda is a beneficiary of that and many others. It is good that we are now having a commission of five people. It is not going to be an issue of one woman or one man making the decision on who to expel, which party to deregister, or what form of punishment to give to a member. It is now going to be a panel of five people and that panel is going to consist of two members from the Majority party two members from the Minority party and one member from the non-parliamentary parties; in other words, the small political parties. This is progressive. A lot of things which have been going wrong are going to be sorted out through this very important amendment. My colleagues have talked about political parties and registration of political parties which is going to be one of the functions of this Commission. I am talking as a proud deputy party leader of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Last week I saw a report which stated that ODM is the only political party that is fully compliant to the Political Parties Act. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}