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{
    "id": 499716,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/499716/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 264,
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    "content": "I have told the Attorney-General, who is a great friend of mine and my learned junior, that before any Bill is presented for assent because as the Attorney-General, he has to read through, he has to ask whether Article 110(3) has been complied with or not. It is as simple as that. It is the starting point. Was Article 110(3) complied with? Where is the written opinion of the Speaker of the Senate, hon. Ekwee Ethuro, to say he concurs that the Bill does not concern counties? In the absence of that, the Attorney-General becomes guilty of connivance and a co-conspirator in frustrating this House. This House shall not be frustrated. I sit here and see the sage that is Sen. G.G. Kariuki, a man who was in the first Parliament of this country, still eager to serve and still serving, and I know he is not in this Senate because he has nothing to do. He is immensely wealthy, immensely experienced and has so much to do but he comes here because he believes that devolution must work. He comes here because he believes there are people out there for whom the clock stopped at Independence and we must now get the clock moving. That clock will only move if we are able to work together. I always give examples of the distinguished Senator from Pokot. Their district was called a closed district. Successive governments from the colonial regime to Independence government would just close Pokot and move in the army; beat people, rape women and do everything for one month and then open it again. Devolution would not allow that to happen. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this House must learn the lessons from 1963. This country started with the Senate. The first distinguished Senator of Nairobi was Clement Lubembe from Sen. (Dr.) Bonny Khalwale’s village. We had other distinguished Senators and there are a few still living; the first Senator of Bungoma, Nathan Munoko is still living and I am sure he is listening to me because he does. That Senate kept quiet as things were happening; that Senate kept mum even as they were abolishing the Senate. People like my good old man, Lubembe, were tricked that constituencies would be created for them in Nairobi and told to go to the Lower House. If the Senate had not been abolished in 1966, this country would be different today. That is why we must remember that when Bills are passed here, they go for assent, they become the laws of the Parliament of Kenya and not the laws of the Senate of Kenya or the laws of the National Assembly of Kenya. The drafters of the Constitution were very clear; there must be an input from inception. There must be a participatory process from both Speakers. When you just look at a Bill and say it does not concern counties, you have spoken for this Senate. You will not be speaking as Speaker Ekwee Ethuro. You will be speaking in a representative capacity. Mr. Speaker, Sir, sometimes when you listen to our brothers and sisters in the Lower House, and as a Senate, we do not want to engage in what the media calls “turf wars”--- Sen. Haji stood to be a Senator because he did not want to go to the National Assembly. Sen. Mositet attempted to be the Member of Parliament for Kajiado North and he was no match to the Late Prof. George Saitoti, so he decided to come to the Senate. He 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."
}