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{
"id": 47750,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/47750/?format=api",
"text_counter": 293,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. M. Kilonzo",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 47,
"legal_name": "Mutula Kilonzo",
"slug": "mutula-kilonzo"
},
"content": "On the selection panel, may I say in this House that the selection and nomination of these officers is actually a function of the Executive and the manner in which I have defined and described the selection panel was advised by that knowledge. Parliament cannot be exercising its function to pass this law and also vet the people we will appoint and, at the same time, dictate the manner of the selection panel. But, again, I stand to be corrected. I will not belabour the point nor will I produce âheavy weatherâ if there are proposals to fine-tune the definition of selection panel and how it will arise. However, it must be understood that his selection panel is, in fact, for purposes of assisting His Excellency the President and the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister to get quality people and it is not intended to help Parliament because, ultimately, Parliament will have its day in this honorable House. In fact, one of the reasons we have designed it like this is because a wing of the Grand Coalition Government is uncomfortable with the way the Public Service Commission is currently established. Therefore, I looked for a compromise and this is what I could come up with. If you have an alternative, let me know. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to assure hon. Members and a wing of the Grand Coalition Government that I will also bring an amendment for the management of opinion polls in this country to ensure that opinion polls during elections are not used in a manner that undermines public security and understanding. So, I will also give them the power - that is this Commission â to be able to deal with, to handle and advise the country on the electoral statistical data. On Schedule 5, to be honest with you, I am a little concerned because we have spent three weeks debating this law. Schedule 5 actually gives the new Commission five months to settle the issues arising from the Ligale Commission Report. That includes delimitation of the boundaries of the 80 new constituencies. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in your ruling yesterday, you gave the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) two weeks. I think that is extravagant but do not punish me for criticism. I firmly believe that if I love you and respect you, I ought to have the right to criticize when criticism is warranted. In fact, that is the only way to prove that I love and respect you because the alternative is for me to become your sycophant, and Mutula will never be anybodyâs sycophant. Therefore, I personally think that unless we are careful; unless we pass these laws quickly, the public expectation of an election in August or December, 2012, will be put in doubt because the Constitution requires that the delimitation of these boundaries be done at least 12 months before the next elections. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to see that we are on the 12th of May and five months takes us to October. So, automatically you are already putting the question of 14th of August, next year in serious doubt. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on petitions, out of a personal experience with them, we recommended to the Committee of Experts and they agreed that petitions and disputes relating to the Presidency must be completed within 45 days. In fact, a President of Kenya in 2013 will not be sworn into office if there is a pending dispute. That is why I am very happy to say that the Cabinet Sub-Committee today has approved the Supreme Court Law and now it will go to the Cabinet in plenary because it will be the ultimate decision maker on disputes on elections. Therefore, the five months that I have provided and luckily not many hon. Members have seen that very particular clause--- I want to urge hon. Members to be careful with Schedule 5 which has given us enormous problems. We have designed it to make sure that the work of the Ligale Commission is not lost; that the investment is not lost. However, we have left a window to enable Kenyans who have issues regarding that Report an opportunity for those issues to be addressed. In fact, we have created a window for making sure that the Commission will publish this Report for one month to allow debate countrywide, and they are required to go to each of the counties. This is a carefully crafted law and I am very proud of it. But, again, I will be, of course, subject to whatever hon. Members do during the Committee Stage. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was amazed to hear my former student, hon. Mrs. Odhiambo-Mabona, making a statement to the effect that Kenyans hate each other. I am sorry but I hold a totally different opinion. All that has happened is that Kenyans are disillusioned with corruption and allegations of stolen elections. Time and time again, Kenyans are disillusioned by the perception that whenever a certain tribe produces a President, it becomes their time to eat. Kenyans are disillusioned with the continued perception that governance in Kenya is a thing that is only in the mouths of politicians, but it is only noticeable by its absence. The energy that has been shown during the debate on this Bill demonstrates that the country is turning around. Therefore, I would like to plead with the country to accept that we are moving forward and that this law alone--- When I bring the Electoral Law - I will bring a quality law as I have always done and you know that â we will start, slowly to remove fear from Kenyans so that they know that elections do not always resort to murder, rape and displacement of people, among other things. Allow me, therefore, to say that I am extremely gratefully to hon. Members, particularly you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker. When we spoke, you told me that you wanted new constituencies in Turkana. That is not up to me. It will be up to the new Commission. Start getting organized to convince them. I am grateful to see the comments that have come forth. For example, hon. Eng. Maina and from Prof. Kamar have talked about disputes resolution, code of conduct and independence with regard to funding. Hon. Prof. Kamar raised an issue regarding representation of women in Parliament. I do not want to comment on it at this point because we will discuss it as we go along. With those far too many reactions and remarks, I beg to conclude by saying that I will welcome all amendments that add value to this law and, particularly, those that create an independent Commission for turning around Kenya for good. I beg to move."
}