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"content": "backgrounds; Sen. Billow, who we all know, is a renowned accountant. I also see the names of four lawyers in the Committee, a professor of mathematics, an engineer, an administrator of long standing, Sen. Musila, and many others. Social scientists are also included. This Committee is able. We also have a judge; as I said, there are four lawyers. I am confident that they will do a good job. They are all capable. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as the Mover said, all the 67 of us are capable of serving in this Committee but our Standing Orders are very clear. If we are not considering the matter as a whole House, then we have to pick only 11 of us. That is what the Motion proposes. I encourage the leadership of the House that whenever these duties arise, let it be rotational so that we do not keep seeing the same names because we are all capable. So far, that is what has happened. This is the fourth impeachment Motion and we have not seen any names being repeated on the list. Therefore, we encourage that. In consideration of this Motion by Murang’a County Assembly, I urge the Members who have been nominated to this Special Committee to remain above board, party interest and look at the issues objectively. The Senate of Kenya which is the first one, that we are all privileged to be Members, has established itself as a House of rules; one that follows the rule of law and abides by all the written laws of this land and international laws. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Article 181 of the Constitution that you referred to, stipulates very clearly the circumstances under which a governor can be impeached. For instance, gross violation of the Constitution which you alluded to, abuse of office and gross misconduct, physical and mental incapacity and lastly, if he commits a crime under national or international laws. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you have read the charges. As the Committee considers this Motion, we want it to strictly adhere to these provisions of Article 181 of the Constitution and Standing Order No.68 of the Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as I second this Motion, I would like to strongly correct what has been appearing in the media, that the Senate had already established a Committee chaired by Sen. Billow and deputized by Sen. Ong’era. That is not the case; it is now that we are setting up the Committee. According to our rules, the Committee will elect their chairperson; it is not automatic. The practice has always been; if it is a governor coming from one coalition, then the Committee should be chaired by a Senator from an opposite coalition and vice versa. The governor in question is the Governor for Murang’a who belongs to the Jubilee Coalition, and I encourage the Committee to follow past practices so that whoever chairs this Committee will be a Member from the opposite coalition. It is a straight forward Motion as stated by the Mover. I urge my colleagues to support this Motion so that we can put in place this Committee. The law stipulates that we have 10 days; seven days to convene the Session that we are in and the Committee has 10 days to report back; that is 17 days in total. Already six days have lapsed and, therefore, we do not have too much time. I urge my colleagues to support this Motion so that we give this Committee an opportunity to look at the charges and report back to us so that we take a decision as a Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to second. 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."
}