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"content": "find out how and why everybody passed, and they replied no. The only reason that they cancelled the examination is because everybody passed. That is grossly contrary to the rules of natural justice. Nobody can be deprived of their right without being given a hearing and an opportunity to challenge that decision. During the draconian days of baba na mama when such things happened, even the teacher whose subject or the head teacher of the school that has been affected, now leaves in fear that he will be arrested, charged or parents some of whom are quite ruffians, will invade and assault him to demand the rights of their children. The teacher is left helpless. I encourage the distinguished proponent of the Bill not to limit the challenge to this unreasonable conduct and decision by the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) to the aggrieved candidates, but also expand it and give the institutions to challenge these decisions; so that, for example, if you are the principal of Hekima or Akili Mingi School and they cancel examinations of your class, you do not have to leave the plight to individual candidates. The school must have the right to challenge that decision so that the KNEC can say their bit and the school their bit. Madam Temporary Speaker, in this country, as the late J.M. Kariuki said, we have 10 billionaires and 39 million poor people. At that time he used the word “beggars.” There are people who cannot even afford to travel; leave alone where you, Sen. (Dr.) Zani, Sen. Obure or I come from; they can jump on a bus overnight and by the next day they are here. However, in places like Kibish, Nadabal, North Horr, Maikona, Moyale and Mandera, people are struggling to live; and all of a sudden you are told that your examination results have been cancelled because of irregularities. Even the dream of such a child or parent coming to Nairobi to challenge this decision is a nightmare. I remember, as a young lawyer, I used to practice law in Mandera, Habaswein, Elwak and Garissa. You arrive there and people ask you: “How is Kenya?” because they did not believe they are in Kenya. So, we need to make it easy. Of course, now we have county governments. I hope they will be sufficiently responsible to help situations like these when they arise. I would like to encourage Sen. (Dr.) Zani to appreciate that, while this tribunal under Clause 40(e) can be domiciled in Nairobi, they should also make it easy for Kenyans in far-flung areas to go and hear them from there. They can have their principal registry here. Sen. Obure should also plug this into the final Bill. The KNEC tribunal that we want to set up will be obligated to have a field office in every county so that aggrieved parties do not have to come to Nairobi or we do not tell them, “post on the web or email.” What is an email to a child in Kibish? You know the lies that Jubilee has visited on the children of Kenya about laptops, tablets and all manner of gadgets, and nothing has come. So, through the judicial system, the law now allows that you can file your court documents through soft copy but if you ask a child in some remote area of West Pokot what a soft copy means, he or she will not understand. I encourage Sen. Obure to address that. Madam Temporary Speaker, the establishment of the National Examination Appeals Tribunal is good because we want a situation where there is a responsible quasi-judicial organ; what used to happen in the past is that, when schools are aggrieved in this manner, they, at the very least, made appeals to the Minister. The Minister would just go to his office one morning and call his officers and say, dismiss all of them, without The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}