HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 174970,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/174970/?format=api",
"text_counter": 353,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. M. Kilonzo",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development",
"speaker": {
"id": 47,
"legal_name": "Mutula Kilonzo",
"slug": "mutula-kilonzo"
},
"content": " Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker Sir. I will be very brief. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is my impression that and as the saying goes, \"there is a silver lining in every cloud.\" Kenya has had a cloud for the last 15 to nearly 20 years discussing a new Constitution. Kenya had a cloud in December through March through the post-election violence. The silver lining now appears under Clause 5 of this Bill which says:- \"Subject to this section, this Constitution may be replaced.\" That is perhaps the single most important aspect of the Bill that is on the Floor of the House this morning. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, during the Bomas debate, we, as a country, were subjected to enormous difficulties, a lot of them arising from litigation in our courts because everybody and a lot of people argued that Parliament did not have the power to create a new Constitution. Therefore, I want to salute this House for the consultative process that it has undertaken in securing and accepting this Clause, because as I have no hesitation in saying, I notice that during the debate that has taken place, Clause 5 which deals with amending and creating Section 47(A) did not become contentious because the country is in agreement that we seek for a new way of taking advantage of the silver lining that is in the cloud for a new Constitution. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to say something that may also be quite unpopular. The saying at that door is that \"For the welfare of society and the just Government of men\". I agree as hon. Prof. Anyang'-Nyong'o has said that we have taken care of the ordinary members of staff but this Bill is silent on the Commissioners themselves. These Commissioners enjoyed constitutional protection during the period they were in office. At some point, this country must accept that subject to coming up with a process for its determining those who were at fault and those who were not at fault, for the realisation of the just Government of men, we cannot remain silent on the consequences of the remaining term of office that these Commissioners enjoyed. I personally will engage in debate to fight for a formula so that we do not appear to be sweeping that issue under the carpet but I nevertheless welcome the enormous contributions that Members have made. December 16, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 4135 Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other thing I would like to say is about the Judiciary. The Judiciary has put this country in a corner because whenever we make decisions, it trashes them. Even recently, a court issued an injunction against Parliament from performing its function as required by the Constitution which is legislation. I believe there are methods of ensuring that Parliament carries out that responsibility in a proper manner without the Judiciary seeking to think that it is superior to Parliament. I saw the Chief Justice saying that the Judiciary is superior to this honourable Parliament. That is not the case. For purposes of legislation, this institution will always be supreme. After we pass this law, it may be subjected to criticism, legal or even political audit. It may be criticised and even come back here for review but the fact of the matter is that, in an orderly society, we have no way other than accepting that Parliament is supreme in legislation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will never forget and I suggest to hon. Members to never forget that at the end of last year's General Election, a huge segment of this country refused to take the judicial process of filing a petition in court and the reason advanced was sometimes called an excuse. I have come to the conclusion that we cannot continue regarding it as an excuse. The reason advanced was that, that huge segment that cast ballot and felt that an unfair result had been announced, refused to go to court on the belief that the Judiciary would either take too long to decide those cases or alternatively, the result would not be what they expected. I think that is the reason, even as a Senior Counsel of this country, I agree with the proposals in this Bill for establishing a special court that is not a division of the High Court and whose purpose is to determine any disputes that arise during the process - only to that extent. I hope that when we create the new Constitution we will consider not only the idea of establishing a Supreme Court that enjoys the confidence of the entire country but better still, a constitutional court that can enjoy confidence. This is because there will always be disputes particularly in elections, so that when those disputes arise, everybody knows that they can be resolved by a Judiciary to which we pay respect and accept their decisions. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am reminded of the enormous disputes of elections that took place before President Bush and his competitor. If you remember, that process received the Supreme Court ruling. At the end of it, Al Gore said: \"I will respect the decision of the court much as I may not agree with it\". That is the sort of Judiciary we are looking for and I hope that those who are supporting this Bill have the same intention that I do, that we create a new Judiciary in the new Constitution that can be respected by all. I beg to support."
}