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    "id": 423836,
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    "content": "of the Whole, but in this case Chaired by Mr. Speaker. In that same part of the Constitution in the next article is the power of the House to summon witnesses, including committees. It is important that the provisions that relate to the powers of Committees and Parliament to summon any person to appear before it are enumerated just after the provisions that relate to Standing Orders and the privileges. So that when the Senate is summoning anybody, it is not a simple matter. I think there is a feeling out there that, probably, the Senate is going overboard in trying to summon persons to appear before its Committees; and the Senate sitting as a plenary – if required in the impeachment proceedings – would assume that even the Plenary of the House if it was required to be so, even a witness can appear before the Plenary of the House of Senate. That is why the rules or the provisions that relate to the power to call for evidence is an important power given to Parliament, and the powers are the same as those of the High Court. I am saying this with emphasis; that when the High Court is sitting giving orders against Parliament, this House has also the same powers as the High Court to summon any person. The emphasis is on “any person.” And the day that we are going to summon any person, they will realize the authority of the Senate, and those powers include powers to enforce attendance. I mean, that is not a power that is just lying there; to enforce attendance, it means that even the Commander of the army – and I am glad about the military; that they have appeared before us; I have been in Committees where they have appeared. Other people think that they are higher in the pecking order than those men and women who look after our borders and protect the security of the people of Kenya and its territory. The House and its Committees also has the power to compel the production of documents or to issue a commission or request to examine witnesses even abroad. There were instances where this Parliament actually can go out of our territory to hear evidence or collect evidence. So, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am saying this just as a matter of emphasis and hope that the Committees which are established by this Parliament will enforce the authority of this House so that the Senate is not just seen as a law making organ. The biggest transformation that we have had from the old Constitution to this Constitution is that Parliament is not just a law making organ; it has got oversight responsibilities, it has got budget making responsibilities and then it is also one of the highest courts in the land. This is such that when this Parliament or this Senate undertakes an impeachment process, there is no appeal after this Senate has made the decision on questions of impeachment. There is no provision for appeal, and that is in the Constitution. So, it is important that some of these things are appreciated. I like the words which the Senate Majority Leader has constantly used; that we are not a parastatal; neither are we a tribunal, because this is a constitutional power that we are a tribunal investigating as much, that when Parliament sits on some account, then it is a tribunal; we are not. More importantly, we are not a trade union."
}