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{
    "id": 491630,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/491630/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 250,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to take this opportunity to thank colleague Senators who have contributed to the Second Reading of this Bill. This Bill will give effect to a constitutional imperative in Article 196(3) that requires that there must be legislation that will empower Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) as well as their committees with the necessary privileges and immunities to discharge their functions. Parliamentary privileges and immunities are as important as those who have contributed to the Bill. I have followed the debate with a lot of interest. These privileges and immunities are not just granted for the sake of it. They are granted to ensure that Members of Parliament and the county assemblies can discharge their functions, and this will help them to be effective. In other words, these privileges and immunities are functional. They do not exclude the beneficiaries from being treated like any other persons. Their purpose is to ensure that Members are protected so as to perform their functions. What has come out from the debate is that the Bill is giving freedom of speech and debate to Members. It also grants freedom from arrest in civil matters. This means that criminal responsibility is not excluded altogether. This needs to be emphasized. The Powers and Privileges Bill is also securing the sanctity of the precincts of county assemblies to preempt or prevent a situation where people just walk in and out of county assemblies and intrude the precincts. This gives the precincts the necessary exclusion for purposes of ensuring that Members discharge their functions without interruption or intrusion. This Bill also allows the House to ensure that Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) conduct their activities and business with decorum. For that reason, it provides that it is an offence to insult other people, to interrupt debate, to use un-parliamentary language, to threaten or induce Members to vote or contribute in a certain way, among other things. Let me say, once more, that this Bill does not exclude MCAs from being accountable for their actions. It only shields them as they conduct their businesses in accordance with the Constitution and other legislations such as the County Governments Act. This makes them be respected collectively as a House but also as individual Members of the House in line with the doctrine of separation of powers and the privileges of parliamentary institutions. There are limitations on these privileges and immunities. Limitations include but are not limited to making utterances that are defamatory to those 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"
}