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{
    "id": 599737,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/599737/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 137,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker for the opportunity to address this matter. I sit in the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and may I begin by telling the House that I am just returning from the United Nations Conference against Corruption on your own nomination, for which I thank you. First, the CJ is a citizen of the Republic of Kenya. So, as a person, he is a Kenyan. The CJ is a Judge of the Supreme Court. In fact, he is the President of the Supreme Court. So, he is a State officer. Of course, you know where I am going to. The CJ is the Head of the Judiciary, which is an organ of the Government. I like this and I do not know why the CJ is stating so in the letter. This letter is headed: “Office of the CJ and President of the Supreme Court”. He is the President of the Supreme Court and the Chairman of the JSC. I am not going to repeat what my colleagues have said, but if we look at our mandate under Article 95 of the Constitution, on all those five capacities, the CJ, whoever he is at any given time, is subject to the legislative processes of Parliament. He is subject to the oversight mandate of Parliament, so that we can oversight the CJ. Article 95 talks about oversight of State officers. In that, not even the President is exempted. Article 95(5) provides that this National Assembly shall review the conduct in office of the President, the Deputy President and all State officers. The CJ falls under that. Indeed, the Leader of the Majority Party doubts whether we can review the conduct of the President. Let me confirm that this is something that we do daily. I am happy our own President reports to this House regularly during the State of the Nation Addresses and we sit back to debate them as leaders and as the Assembly of the nation. Article 95 says:- “(5) The National Assembly─ (b) exercises oversight of State organs.” How do you oversight Parliament if you are not dealing with the leadership of Parliament? How do you oversight the Judiciary if you are saying the CJ ought not to come? I agree that we must always uphold, restrain and respect as a Committee, what the CJ is referring to, in the relationship between these organs. In the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, we have said that unless it is necessary, we do not want the CJ, the Head of the Judiciary, to be seen in Parliament regularly on each and every issue that can be dealt with by the Accounting Officer and others. However, remember, there are some issues over which only the Head of the Judiciary can give answers. We had an issue the other time where, for instance, the Finance and Administration Committee of the JSC was entangled in fiscal policy and management of funds in the Judiciary with the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary. Who can come to Parliament, the leadership of the nation seated here, to explain what is happening there at that level? Let me tell the Members that a letter can tell you easily that we have taken action and some officers are in court, but we also know that there are cases where some officers could be in court as cover up. There are times 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."
}