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{
    "id": 609809,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/609809/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 240,
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    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, the other troubling feature that I have seen is the attack on the Judiciary. This attack starts with the Chairman of the Budget Committee, hon. Mutava Musyimi, whom I had respect for and would have been President of this country. He now says: “Because judicial activism has put us in this mess through advisories, we must go there and take out at least Kshs1 billion.” So, the Judiciary is being punished because of the advisory opinion it gave. As we know, the Judiciary is the final interpreter of the Constitution and legislation. Therefore, hon. Musyimi is saying that because you have done your job, you must be punished by removing a certain amount from your budget. It was not just hon. Mutava Musyimi. Also, the Leader of Majority, instead of respecting the opinion given by the court, went at length to state and quote the section of the Constitution which says: “Only the National Assembly can determine.” He went on to praise one of the Judges who dissented from that opinion of the Supreme Court, whereas, under Article 10 of the Constitution, each state official must in his work and everything else apply and interpret correctly the Constitution. He should not substitute his own personal opinion with that rendered by the court. Hon. Duale, in pursuing his interpretation, he is enforcing it through Parliament. I think that was violating the Constitution. At least, the letter and spirit of the Constitution was being violated. But it is not just the Leader of Majority in Parliament. I was very disappointed that even the Leader of Minority in the National Assembly subscribed to that view. As Sen. Lesuuda said, when you see two sides uniting in Parliament, then there is something. Therefore, there is something which we must deal with. I like this particular Motion which states that the Judiciary should continue to interpret the Constitution without fear or favour and should not be subjected to any other person or authority. So, we see threats to our Constitution. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when hon. Duale told hon. Musyimi “that is food for thought,” hon. Musyimi appears now to have forgotten the contribution of the National Assembly. When he replied, he just said: “We shall target the Senate, the Judiciary and the SRC.” When he said that, there was applause in the House. That was quite something. So, this tyranny of the National Assembly is something that we have to deal with. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am glad that a Committee is going to be appointed. Apart from amending the Constitution, there is need to relook at the various legislations in the budgeting process and ensure that the role of the Senate is clearly spelt out. Of course, we have a committee that discusses the budget. As things stand now, a number of decisions that touch on budget issues are made at that very Committee and the Senate is not represented. I think this is part of the problem that we have. Matters are discussed by the Chair of the Budget Committee of the National Assembly in that particular committee chaired by the Deputy President and so on. All other stakeholders, including the Governors are there. Somehow they agree on an issue and when you try to amend what"
}