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"content": "or which, by the operation of any written law, is secret” Mr. Speaker, Sir, the thrust of the Motion by the Senate Minority Leader is a matter which is sub judice and actively before the High Court of the Republic of Kenya. The matter of the Security Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014 is active in court within the meaning of Standing Order 92(3) (c) which says:- “In determining whether a criminal or civil proceeding is active, the following shall apply— Civil proceedings shall be deemed to be active when arrangements for hearing, such as setting down a case for trial, have been made, until the proceedings are ended by judgment or discontinuance.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, the matter of the intended Motion is a matter which has been heard. When I look in this hallowed Chamber of this Senate, I see colleagues who are even actively litigating in that matter as counsel. The dignity, impartiality and consistency of this Senate is at stake, if we allow a Motion concerning a matter that is active before a court and where a ruling is expected this Friday, to be discussed in this Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the reason I stood on this point of order is not because I impute any improper motives on the Mover or sponsor of this Motion. It is not to try and, perhaps, ignore the issues that may be relevant. However, we have taken a consistent position in this House; that we need other arms of Government to respect the Senate and equally, the Senate must be respected by other arms of Government. This is because we cannot keep on demanding respect when we cannot reciprocate that respect. We have asked courts not to injunct this House, because when a matter is active before this House, it cannot be injuncted. You wait until the matter is finished. If it is a law, you follow it to the court and the court is free to make an interpretation about that law, as is happening in the current matter. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I humbly request the direction of the Chair. This is because the sole purpose of this Sitting is to discuss a matter which is active before the High Court. We are setting a dangerous precedent. We are setting up this Senate to ridicule. This Senate is the last hope that Kenyans are looking up to, as the bastion of legality and constitutionality. So, with great respect to the Mover, it will be illegal to allow a matter that is active before court to be moved before this House. The purpose of these Standing Orders is to ensure that when an illegality is quoted, like in this case, then the matter does not arise at all. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am being reminded – and it is important – that the same Standing orders that I have relied on require – I think in paragraph 4 – that any Senator who is alleging that the sub judice rule has been breached must provide evidence. I have with me certified copies – stamped by the Registrar of the High Court of Kenya – of the proceedings on the matter in question, including the certificate of urgency, under which this matter and petition was filed, including the notice of Motion and petition itself. What this Senate is about to entertain is a matter that is squarely before the High Court. If we proceed, we will be breaching the Constitution, tradition and doctrine of separation of 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"
}