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{
    "id": 450468,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/450468/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 79,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "except Kenya, is an appellate House. The Senate deals with Bills from the Lower House. Matters start from there and come to the Senate. It is only in Kenya where the distinguished Speaker for the Senate is taken for granted by the Speaker of the Lower House, even when the Constitution says that you must meet and look at things together. That is why I dare say that just as you led us to go for an advisory opinion, it is incumbent upon you, as the first Speaker of this Senate - of course, there was the earlier Senate that was abolished - as the first Speaker of the Senate under the new Constitution, it is incumbent upon you to lead us again without fear or favour or even prejudice to go to the Supreme Court again and demand an opinion and a ruling that all those Bills that have been assented to in error are not laws of this country because they have been unprocedurally arrived at and assented to. It is only by doing this that sanity and order will be brought to our legislative processes. I have no doubt whatsoever because I have worked with President Uhuru before; it is those who advice him, and in this case, the blame goes to one office because I know in our successive regimes in this country, the President never assents to a Bill unless the Attorney-General is there telling him that he has read through and dutifully and constitutionally advises the President to sign. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if the Attorney-General is giving this unconstitutional, illegal and defective advice, then a time is coming when even this House must take a position on that office holder. When the Constitution is clear, the law is clear, it defeats common sense for the principal legal advisor of the Government for whom we pay from the taxpayers’ money to encourage the flouting of the Constitution. If the Parliamentary Service Commission will deny you the money to go to court, I encourage these Senators to forfeit a portion of their salaries for us to go to court and challenge the constitutionality of those Bills. It is only then that this Senate will be taken seriously, will be reckoned with and will be respected. If we become cry babies, fold our hands, just sit there, look overpowered or helpless, then we will never be respected by anybody. We will end up constantly looking like amateurish politicians who know nothing about what we are doing. I also agree with Sen. Sang from their mediation that our distinguished colleagues who are nominated to this House, it is not that they are any less important but the Constitution itself says that each county has one Senator. So, where we have a county like Nairobi with about six nominated Senators, the aggregate is that Nairobi has one Senator. If we go to Trans Nzoia where my distinguished lady comes from, that is, Sen. Kittony and Sen. Ndiema, Trans Nzoia has one Senator. So, it is only one Senator who will be the Chair of the Board. Our distinguished nominated colleagues on this one, you just have to bite the bullet and acknowledge that it is sufficient privilege for you to be nominated in this House and that where you are dealing with elected offices, let the elected offices handle those issues. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}