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{
"id": 174968,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/174968/?format=api",
"text_counter": 351,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mudavadi",
"speaker_title": "The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government",
"speaker": {
"id": 84,
"legal_name": "Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi",
"slug": "musalia-mudavadi"
},
"content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand to support this Bill and commend all those who have participated in enabling it to come before this House in this format. I think this is a very innovative process because under normal circumstances, the current Constitution that we have would have called for the appointment of a tribunal to look at the conduct of the various commissioners. But it is quite clear that we are reaching a new realm of legislation because it is also apparent that in matters where a tribunal would be required, this would require the Executive to appoint it so that the individual commissioners would have to go through a due process where they would defend themselves and speak clearly on whether they committed a crime or not, or whether there was an omission or a commission. Under normal circumstances, that is the procedure that should have been followed. What is coming out - and it is a reality that we must now live with - is that the whole principle of our legislation and even when you look at the Constitution, this Bill brings in a new approach in an area where, maybe, the Executive, for a reason or another, is unable to have a tribunal in place to look at the personal accountability of these commissioners. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as Parliament passes this Bill and it makes a decision on the ECK, it means that, at a personal level, we may never know, though it may not be necessary now, the individual account of those commissioners on how they conducted the electoral process that we went through. So, this is a very important step at this point in time. It deals with the entire ECK, but what we may have to look at in future is that if we put in place a law that calls upon the Executive to appoint a tribunal and it fails to do so, should this now be the format that should be adopted in future where Parliament can then override the process of having to appoint a tribunal in order to get certain corrective measures in place? So, this is a very fundamental issue which should inform the constitutional debate that will ensure when the actual constitutional process will have started in earnest. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this process we have taken is a very painful one because as hon. Members rightly put it, there may have been members of staff who could have been innocent in December 16, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4133 this process. However, at the same time, we also know that, indeed, if there was a fault, the commissioners sitting in Nairobi could not have operated on their own. They must have had accomplices in those acts of omissions and commissions. So, this also sends the message that within our institutions, it is also becoming apparent that the issue of personal accountability on matters of this nature, especially matters as grave as the democratic rights of Kenyans, cannot, in any way, be taken for granted. In the future, institutions that we create, be it the ECK or what electoral management system we shall put in place under the new Constitution, we must make sure the issue of personal accountability is just as heavy as the collective accountability of that particular institution. Lastly, as I support this, I would like to urge hon. Members to appreciate that as we go through the next steps, it will be important to bear in mind that as we constitute our institutions, it is important that merit becomes a very important criteria in getting people in place. This is because we are definitely suffering because of some of these issues. Some people may have gone home as victims of a process. In certain instances, without casting any aspersions on any individual, the truth of the matter is that some people who may have held the office of manning the electoral process were not up to the challenge and they have brought the country to a very difficult situation where very difficult decisions have to be made. Nevertheless, those decisions have to be made. I urge hon. Members to really deal with this matter because it is the beginning of that process. We have to deal with the Kriegler Report and the Waki Report. This is a process of starting to show that we are of age and ready to tackle the more contentious issues in this country. I beg to support."
}