Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 490777,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/490777/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 206,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "sovereign power is exercised by the people directly or through their elected representatives. Whatever we do here has been done by the people of Kenya. We transact business on their behalf. That is enormous power. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the power to do anything in this country belongs to the people. The fact that we can do it on their behalf is enormous responsibility. I have been restraining myself from talking about this issue because I thought that our sister would come back early next week with a substantive Motion so that we come up with rulings and read through them so that the people of Kenya can appreciate what we are talking about. If read again in this House, you would shock the public that these are rulings and judgments of the courts of Kenya. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I recently realised that all Senators had been enjoined in a suit and held in contempt of court. There is a case going on against us regarding matters that I do not know about. We do not know what amounts to that contempt. We may have exercised our powers as legislators and, therefore, are in contempt. Recently, Sen. Murungi said that these courts may place an injunction on this House. I repeated that and laughed it off. By placing an injunction on the Committee of this House, your House has been injuncted, Mr. Speaker. In fact, it is you who has been injuncted. If this House exercises its roles through its Committees which are the mini version of the Senate and which report to the Senate, then the courts have stopped the Senate from doing its work. Where do they derive that power from? Where does the court get the power to suspend the functions of the Senate and Parliament? What happens at the time when Parliament cannot function owing to a court order? I do not know what is happening to our courts. However, as hon. Murungi has said, clearly, there was a time when we knew that you could not get an injunction against the Government. If you tried, you were told that the only time that you could get this injunction was when you showed that you would suffer irreparable damage. Now we are being told you can be injuncted for anything, including holding a rally even if you are exercising your right. I have seen some judge trying to do that. Later on, we were pursued for saying certain things in a rally. Unless we discuss this matter here properly and tell the courts that they have no power to injunct Parliament or Government from doing its job, then we will not be able to function. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let us look at it this way: We have been given some powers in this Constitution to impeach the President, assuming we did and reached the threshold and the President goes to court to get an injunction, what will the country think of the court or institutions of governance in this country? They are eating at it slowly, but sooner than later, if we are not careful, there will only be one institution of governance; the courts. Therefore, if you want anything to be solved in this country you do not need a law to be passed by Parliament, you just go to court. We have to do something about it quickly. I do not know whether we need to pass a law, but I am almost agreeing that we should do so, to ensure that courts cannot injunct the Government or Parliament. What if they declare that the law we have passed is unconstitutional. That is even better; that they can declare it unconstitutional. However, in this one, they have not even declared it 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."
}