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{
    "id": 562528,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/562528/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 181,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ng’ongo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Deputy Speaker, I also request that this appropriate procedure should also be defined. In my understanding, the President could express his reservations to the National Assembly or the Senate, whichever the source of the Bill, citing what he feels should be done differently. But he should not go ahead and recommend how the Bill should look like. That is legislative authority vested in Parliament. Since this matter has been canvassed a lot, if the intention was to have the President do a Bill or fresh provisions in the Bill, how have you accommodated the requirement that any legislation must go through public hearing? In fact, Parliament is a House of people’s representatives. The National Assembly is defined in the Constitution as representing the people of Kenya. There is no any other House which is referred to as representing people of constituencies except the National Assembly. Even for us to legislate, the law still requires that that legislation must go through public hearing for the people of Kenya to own it. So, how will you accommodate the interest of the people of Kenya if the President will just make suggestions? In conclusion, this is a real challenge to this House. If we sit here and see the institution of Parliament being destroyed in terms of taking away its legislative power, which is given under Article 94 of the Constitution, history will judge the Eleventh Parliament harshly. I want to remind this House that the Parliaments of 1983 and 1988 sat probably where we are or where the Senate is, mutilated, removed their power and gave it to one individual namely, the then President of the Republic of Kenya. The consequences were dire. People were tortured and some lost their lives. A person like Hon. Kenneth Matiba, up to today, is in ill health just because of a rogue Parliament. It was a Parliament that was not considerate or sensitive enough to realise that giving power to one individual is suicidal. The people of Kenya could not be careless enough to vote in August, 2010 to give one person powers to write the laws that would govern this country. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}