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{
    "id": 448916,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/448916/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 230,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kembi-Gitura",
    "speaker_title": "The Deputy Speaker",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 242,
        "legal_name": "James Kembi Gitura",
        "slug": "kembi-gitura"
    },
    "content": " Order, hon. Senators! If you look at Standing Order No.80(4), it says that during division like we are in, Senators shall maintain order in the Senate and shall be in their designated seats and shall remain seated until the result is announced. I appreciate that and I allowed this point of order from Sen. Wetangula with my eyes open because although the Standing Order says that, I do not believe that it means that the Constitution or the Standing Orders can be flouted just because Standing Order says we must be seated. The point of order that Sen. Wetangula raised is extremely important because like he says correctly, if we vote and a delegation votes against the provisions of Article 123 of the Constitution, that vote can be declared to be null and void ab initio. I am sure nobody wants that to happen. That is why you see us adjourning voting to the following day so that we can have delegations and numbers or threshold to vote. So, I do not think it is a frivolous point of order. Sen. Sijeny has explained to me and I have no reason to doubt that Sen. Sonko has given her a standing order or designation in which he has given the order. This also includes Sen. Mugo, in her absence, Sen. Ongoro in her absence, Sen. Sijeny and so on. So, it is important to recognize that. What I hope is not going to happen and Sen. Sijeny said so and I have no reason not to believe her; that she had not seen Sen. Mugo when she said “I vote Yes”. That for me, I accept, because we are honourable Members of this House. What I hope is not going to happen is for any Senator to purport to have authority when they have none because the records are going to be clear. As a matter of direction, I have done this in the past. I would like to see the Clerk’s office keeping a copy or a register of those designations and it should be here when you are doing divisions just in case any issue should arise because if one delegation has a problem amongst itself and one says he or she has the authority and another one also says so, then it is going to be a very difficult situation. So, the vote would be null and void. Let us proceed but I want to thank Sen. Wetangula for raising that issue because it is very important. I have talked about it in the past and I will continue talking about it until all of us understand the provisions of the Constitution in that regard. Can we proceed?"
}