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{
    "id": 727737,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/727737/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 229,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13156,
        "legal_name": "Mutula Kilonzo Jnr",
        "slug": "mutula-kilonzo-jnr"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary, Speaker, Sir. It has been a while since I moved a Bill. Under the Constitution, Article 6(1) divides this country into 47 counties. After the promulgation of the Constitution we do not have any piece of legislation that defines what those counties and their boundaries are. In the event that a person or persons seeks to amend or alter a boundary; they shall follow the procedure stated under Article 188. I successfully moved a Motion for the Committee of Legal Affairs to draft legislation that would anchor the 47 counties into law. This is because for any person to then get the right to alter the boundaries as proposed under Article 188, there must be a process of how those boundaries will be altered. Where then do you find legislation? In my research, I bothered to check the history as to how we arrived at 47 counties. From my research, the 47 counties were put together from what is now called The District and Provinces Act of 1992. That was the compromise. That is what I was told by the people who negotiated for our current Constitution. Therefore, the existing legislation as it is today, talks about districts and provinces. It does not refer to counties. We have no process. It is a pity that our counties are not anchored into law. They exist only in a name. This piece of legislation will provide us with that process of anchoring them into the law. The 1992 Act commonly referred to as The District and Provinces Act has 47 schedules which are now the 47 counties. Any person who wants to know where the boundaries are, will have to refer to the Schedules in that Act. The purpose of this legislation that I have proposed through the Legal Affairs Committee is to, first of all, anchor those boundaries as stated in that law into this legislation. First, if there are any issues on those boundaries, then the process will then be found in this very elaborate legislation. This matter has raised concern in 19 counties, so far, and we are still counting. We have similar concern between Meru-Isiolo, Makueni- Machakos, Makueni-Taita counties, among others counties. There are two petitions, one by Sen. Karaba on boundaries in Kirinyaga, another one from Emali between Makueni and Kajiado. There is a common notion in Emali in Makueni County that the boundary is the railway line. At the time I was drafting this Bill, many people in those two counties knew their boundary was the railway line. However, with the coming of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), I asked them whether their boundaries had shifted because the SGR line moved further to the left. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we are living in dangerous times dangerously. This is because while we continue discussing this issue in these fora, Sen. Murungi moved a Motion which sought to request the Office of the President to appoint a taskforce to determine the dispute between Meru and Isiolo. What was the result? First of all, we advised him not to do so, because it was unconstitutional. However, power is power. 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"
}