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"speaker_name": "Mr. M. Kilonzo",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand, with your permission, to express, in general principle, support for this Bill. One of the reasons is that this country, since Independence, has not legislated on political parties. This has contributed to some of the biggest problems that we have faced as a country. It is instructive that the time for legislating on political parties has come. As a country, I believe that when we amended the Constitution to reintroduce multiparty democracy, that was a lost opportunity in which we should have attempted, at the very least, to provide for political party machinery under the law. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I believe that, as a country, and as we move forward, the future of this country is going to depend on how well we organise or disorganise political parties. In the recent past, we have had serious experiences. Speaking for myself, I have had to work, as an advocate, for very many political parties facing, not only internal disputes, but also invasion by other people from across the political divide. This is a situation that threatens the very purpose of the creation and inclusion of Section 1 (A) of the Constitution which declares that Kenya will be a multiparty democratic State. Therefore, the legal theory behind this Bill is most welcome. I welcome and support it. I think that we should make a serious effort to produce a political party mechanism that can supplement the provisions of Section 1 (A) that I have just described. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, however, there are serious weaknesses in this Bill and I think that they should be considered very carefully. I will only mention a few of them because I do not want to repeat what other hon. Members, who have contributed to this debate, have said. One of them is the definition of what is called \"a public officer\". You will realise that if we pass this Bill the way it has been designed, neither Ministers nor, for that matter, Members of Parliament will be able to participate as officials in a political party. This will, in itself, undermine the very concept of what a political party is. The second one is the clause that the Minister has introduced in the part that talks of the Office of Registrar of Political Parties. By saying that the Registrar of Political Parties will be an office in the Office of the Electoral Commission, but at the same time creating this very strange phrase called, \"operational autonomy\", there is a window there for a Government that really wants to undermine multiparty democracy to use that phrase, \"operational autonomy\" for purposes of undermining the very purpose that the law is designed for. I hope that at the Committee Stage, opportunity will be availed to us to present suitable amendments to eliminate these two words, \"operational autonomy\" so that political parties know that their registration management and other works are vested in an Electoral Commission. I also very much hope that the ongoing essential reform discussions in the country will produce the sort of Electoral Commission that we all aspire to. In fact, one that is truly independent and under which we can happily transfer the management of political parties to without fear that there will be political interference. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other worry that I have about this Bill is that it does not recognise the very nature of Kenyan politics; that as we move forward into the future, coalition making and coalitions are going to be an essential feature of the management of the affairs of our country. The experiences of a single political party rule in this country, if you remember, the one-finger salute, the red shirt and sometimes even the practices of the disciplinary committee of the then ruling party, KANU, created enormous problems in this country that I do not think we have even covered yet. Again, in realisation of the purpose of Section 1 (A) of the Constitution, this Bill should introduce a mechanism that recognises that the country can and April 26, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 993 should have encouragement for coalitions. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, you will realise that the Bill, in a very strange twist of events, has suggested that one cannot belong to more than one political party, which in itself is an antithesis of the concept of coalitions because coalitions envisage that various independent political parties comprising members can, nevertheless, come together and, in fact, create a coalition. As I speak, the country is currently being managed by a coalition. Of course, when this Government took over, the country was run by a coalition called Rainbow, which, unfortunately, aborted. However, we are now ruled by a Government of National Unity (GNU), which is also a coalition. As I speak, we have hon. Members who were elected on a KANU ticket, but are now serving in the Government. We need to recognise this fact and I fully agree with hon. Members who have said that we have to find a way of entrenching this Bill, and the law behind it, into the Constitution. In this way, everybody looking at our Constitution will know that political parties can either merge or form coalitions; a lacuna that is creating enormous problems. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this gives rise to the other issue that has been addressed by my learned friend, Ms. Ndung'u this afternoon. This is the problem that arises from the fact that so long as you have no adequate mechanism for entrenching this law into the Constitution, there will always be disputes. Many of these disputes cannot be resolved by the standard method of using the Judiciary. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we need a mechanism to ensure that small disputes that arise within political parties, either internally or externally, can be taken to an alternative dispute resolution mechanism of the nature that has been suggested by hon. Members. This could be a tribunal or an arrangement chaired by a person qualified to be a judge. I know that speaking as I do, I am speaking my way out of legal briefs from political parties, which I have enjoyed doing. However, I think time has come for us to realise the importance of ensuring that disputes of the natures that have appeared in court, can be fanned out to alternative methods. This will save judges from looking like they are interfering with political parties or that they are players in politics. I have seen this sort of thing in court. The judges sometimes think they can also be politicians. We should refer these issues to an independent firmly functional tribunal whose appeals, where necessary and subject to leave of the court, can be re-filed in courts. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other thing is the issue of funding. I fully disagree with the proposal in the Bill. It appears like the Minister for Finance will be the sole person to determine how funding for political parties will be done in the budget. The Minister, at any given time, can come to the House and say there is not enough money for funding political parties. I think that this function should be left to the House. Parliament itself, through the mechanisms we are introducing, can ensure that sufficient funds are allocated up to a minimum threshold. This should be based on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or some such other process where enough money can be assigned to political parties. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is ridiculous for the Bill to suggest that we put limits on donations emanating from Kenyans while at the same time barring foreigners or \"aliens\", as used in the Bill--- I agree with the hon. Member who said the word \"alien\" should be amended. I do not think it is a very good word. It suggests a situation of war. We should use the word foreigner or a non-Kenyan. The fact of the matter is that we ought not limit these donations. However, we ought to make a provision to require that such donations would not be such as to create ownership by an individual or organisation in the management of a political party. I think we should either raise the threshold or eliminate the limit of Kshs1 million that has been put. I do not think it is adequate. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is another thing that concerns all of us. This is the issue of changing political parties. This is a case where people defect from one political party to 994 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 26, 2007 another as has happened in this House since Independence. I think that this Bill should consider introducing a mechanism so that where a given number of hon. Members of Parliament, elected on a party ticket, decide that they want to change their political direction, they can receive some element of recognition. I say so because from my experience in courts particulary representing my political party KANU, you find people elected to Parliament on KANU tickets decide, for one reason or another, to vote on the other side of the Floor and support the Government. It is always desirable to ensure that a country can and should encourage the opportunity for changing political positions and opinions. I think it is not right that the country should force people elected to Parliament to stick to a particular political philosophy merely for purpose of the philosophy. The only way to do this, in an intelligent manner, is to borrow a leaf from other countries. Take the example of India and other countries which say that, as long as about ten per cent of Members of Parliament of a political party decide to change their political vision and opinion, and vote in a particular manner, they will be recognised as a political faction. By so doing, they will be recognised for purposes of funding. If this were to happen right now--- I am sure that my chairman in KANU may not be happy about what I saying. However, I am a realist and I want a law that enables flexibility in this country because without it, you end up with situations that we have faced as a country. In a situation such as that, you will not find people seeking to challenge the chairman of KANU in court using the methods they are using. As long as there are enough numbers within certain parameters of the law, they will be recognised as such. They, then, would not use their differences to undermine the very integrity of the political party that I belong to. The only way to avoid these things is to eliminate doubts in the minds of politicians and the country at large once and for all. They should know that in given situations, within certain parameters, people can change their political affiliation and thinking. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the critical elements is the issue of resignation from political parties. I notice that in Clause 9 of the Bill, the drafters and the Minister have continued with the fiction that the only way to resign from a political party is by putting it in writing. As we know, in this country, either politicians prefer not to know how to write when changing political positions or alternatively, they find it so intimidating and threatening. This leaves the country continuing thinking that you are supporting a particular line of politics when you have shown by your own actions, activities and pronouncements that your loyalties lie elsewhere. That is why I am saying Clause 9 ought to be looked at very carefully. I hope the committee responsible will look at this clause to make sure that we do not live with the fiction that we have in this country when it comes to people who want to change political parties. Perish the thought that once nominated or elected on a particular party ticket, it is tied to you with a chain such that you can sink in the lake and drown permanently. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think once the public know that we have a proper law for the management of political parties, it ought to be possible for people to adjust their political thinking in a proper manner. However, this, as has been said, must be considered carefully so that it synchronises with Section 16 and Section 17 of the Constitution which confer on the President the right to appoint Ministers from Members elected to Parliament. This means he can shop around. I know that this power has been abused and used badly. Leaders of political parties in this country are not consulted when appointments are made. We would like a situation whereby, nevertheless, even in recognition of that power of the President, it is utilised within the parameters of the law as we understand it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, a lot has been said about this Bill and I want to say another thing. If you look at Clause 23, it is trying to create an impression that out of the funds that the country will allocate to political parties, not more than 10 per cent can be used for April 26, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 995 administrative expenses of the party. My experience with political parties is that a lot of personnel working for political parties suffer enormously for not being paid. Sometimes they do not receive their salaries and landlords who donate their property to political parties end up not getting rent because the money is not there. In my mind, the single most important thing in any political party is the secretariat. Out of our enormous experience we know that political parties in other countries of the world are, in fact, managed by their secretariats. Politicians may come and go but it is the secretariat that determines how well the political parties function. They are the ones that supervise the nominations and ensure that the regulations pertaining to political parties are complied with. I think that the 10 per cent provision is unfortunate and unfair. It should be erased and to the very list, eliminated, so that the political party can determine how to use the funds that have been donated by the country under Clause 23. This is to ensure that a political party is properly managed. I am thinking of a situation whereby, for example, a political party will have computers, stationery, establish branches and so on. All these are administrative expenses. Above all, these are the most critical in the affairs of the political party. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other thing that I wish to address is the issue of the distribution of these funds once they are made available. I do share the views expressed here on the Floor, that each political party, as long as it is found to qualify for registration, should be considered for allocation of funds. However, the experience in this country is rather unfortunate. I will apologise for using the phrase \"briefcase parties\" because I am a democrat and I recognise the need to have political parties. So, when I use the phrase, \"briefcase political parties,\" I am using it because it has been used by others. It is not my invention. Nevertheless, I saw that expression recently, when ODM(K) was struggling to get its logo, trade-mark or political symbol to be recognised and we had been held at ransom by characters who do not belong to ODM(K). I even do not know if they know how an orange looks like. Those people went and registered a political party and took an orange and declared it their party symbol. As a result, we have struggled in order to get our symbol recognised, to the extent that the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) felt that we were invading their offices. But it is them who had made the mistake because they should never have allowed anybody else to use an orange. They are the ones who gave us the orange symbol during the referendum. I believe that we have a right to use it. We also registered the orange on the map of Kenya under the Trade Marks Act and I think it ought to have been freely recognised and accepted. But that fiasco arose from the fact that we do not have a political parties law. Therefore, I want to plead with those hon. Members who might feel that this Bill is too flawed to be accepted, that I believe that this Bill is capable of being amended in order to bring it within the parameters that this country requires. This way we can avoid the problems that we have had where ODM(K) officers having to climb gates in order to get their registration certificate, or to go to the offices of the ECK to get their political party symbol. If we had a law like this, it would have been much easier. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am not reminding you of anything new, but as you know, I am advancing this in view of those of us who might feel that the time for this law has not come. Many political parties, including NARC, KANU, DP or FORD(K) have been my clients. The main problem is that, to register a political party you use the same machinery that people who want to establish burial committees use. It is the same machinery used by our wonderful Kenyan women in the countryside when they want to form an association for purposes of roofing their houses or buying water tanks. It is the same mechanism used by students who want to register a student association, for example, in Makerere University or the University of Nairobi. It is an archaic system. It is negligent as a country, that we cannot recognize that we cannot run political parties the 996 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 26, 2007 same way we run societies. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I can see the wonderful Chairman of FORD(K) looking at me keenly, because he knows what I am talking about. He has suffered from this problem whereby his political party was invaded and raided by people who were thinking that FORD(K) is just another picnic committee where you can go and declare yourself chairman and by so doing, you become the chairman of the party. We cannot accept that. I think it is very important that we get an opportunity to create a law which will protect my good friend and brother, the chairman of FORD(K) from any future litigation of that nature, so that, should a dispute arise, he can go before a tribunal and then he can be recognised for what he is; a leader. That includes, Mr. Biwott too! If Mr. Biwott thinks that he can lead KANU, we do not want him to use legislation that is for funeral committees. We want him---"
}