Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 577918,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/577918/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 34,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chepkong’a",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1154,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Kiprono Chepkonga",
        "slug": "samuel-kiprono-chepkonga"
    },
    "content": "know, this Bill has been scrutinized by the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. As you also know, Hon. Peter Kaluma is a ranking Member of that Committee, and we agreed that he sponsors this Bill with the concurrence of the Committee. So, the Committee totally supports this Bill. When it came for scrutiny, we did not have any objection at all. In fact, the only thing that we had was total support for Hon. Peter Kaluma’s Bill. This Bill is coming at a very important time in our country. The reason is that it is important to define what separation of power is. In the recent past, we have seen the Judiciary interfering with Parliament by seeking to issue injunctions against Parliament on matters under discussion and before their conclusion. This has completely interfered with Parliament and debate in the House. It has interfered with freedom of speech in this country. We have also seen courts interfering with the Senate in the famous case of Governor Wambora. Before they concluded the impeachment proceedings, the courts had stopped the process. It is important that we allow the process to play out in both Houses before the High Court intervenes. As we pass this amendment, we should not be afraid of amending the Constitution. This is part of the 20 per cent that we all agreed during the referendum that we pass the Constitution and amend later the 20 per cent that was bad. We have now come to amend the 20 per cent that is bad. As I rise, I totally support the Bill by Hon. Peter Kaluma and ask Members to be present to ensure that we have the two-thirds to pass this Bill. I am just hoping that the House Business Committee (HBC) will slot this amendment Bill immediately after the one by which we are seeking to extend the application of the various laws, so that we can be strategic in the manner in which we pass this Bill. This should also come together with Hon. Ochieng’s Bill that seeks to move the date of the next general election to December. We hope that we will also be strategic in ensuring that all Members are present, particularly on Tuesday when most of us will have come back from upcountry. Be that as it may, I just wanted to speak about the issues that have exercised the minds of the Senate in the past. In fact, we must allow the Senate to discuss matters unrestrained. This is part of the process of ensuring that the Senate carries on with its business without being interfered with. I read somewhere the other day that they were responding to what we said in the House on Tuesday. They are claiming that Article 125 of the Constitution allows them to do anything under the sun. If we pass this Bill, it will not be allowed for them to discuss everything, including matters that are the mandate of the National Assembly. They should restrict themselves only to matters they have been mandated to discuss under Article 96 of the Constitution. We were even told - I read it somewhere - that they said that Members of the National Assembly are not educated. I asked myself: When did we become uneducated? When we came to this House, we were educated. If they intend to respond to us, they should not throw tantrums lest we believe that these are tantrums of old people and then we will ignore them. Let them be judicious in the manner in which they approach issues and not be abusive. You know we were raising these issues because we thought they were trespassing. You know trespassers should always be arrested; so, we were seeking to arrest them in this House. Unfortunately, as you know, we do not have police powers; the monopoly of violence is, of course, vested in the police. With those few remarks, I support."
}