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{
    "id": 777836,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/777836/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 223,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13156,
        "legal_name": "Mutula Kilonzo Jnr",
        "slug": "mutula-kilonzo-jnr"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I rise to move that the County Boundaries Bill (Senate Bills No. 11 of 2017) be now read a Second Time. This is a very important Bill and I will explain briefly. In 2015, I moved a Motion that the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights considers drafting a Bill that would anchor our counties in law. My dear colleagues, the counties are specifically provided for both in the Schedule and Article 6 of the Constitution of Kenya. For the avoidance of doubt, the Committee of Experts stated the following with regard to counties:- “For the unit of county governments, districts enacted in 1992 by the District and Provinces Act were adopted as proposed counties. It was necessary to establish units of devolved government that could be effective for this purpose. This and the fact that they were lawfully recognised as administrative units, explains the adoption of the 1992 districts”. The Constitution provided for a review of boundaries by a specialised commission. The object of including these units of devolution as it is in the draft was to provide a starting point for a new dispensation of devolved units. But the boundaries of the devolved units could then be altered in accordance with the procedures provided. It is to be noted that whereas the Electoral Boundaries will be reviewed and could change periodically, those for the counties as units of devolution would not change regularly.” Madam Temporary Speaker, the law as it is and as I have quoted the Committee of Experts, our counties are anchored on the Districts and Provinces Act of Cap 105A which describes every county of the 47 counties in terms of their location and boundaries from County No. 1 to No. 47. So, to say this, there is a legal lacuna; we do not have counties’ boundaries or counties established in law. The main purpose of this Bill which you will find at the end is to repeal the Districts and Provinces Act of Cap 105A to provide the districts to be converted to counties. The basis upon which the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights thought of this Bill is that, at the time we were drafting this Bill, there were disputes upon disputes. When the Governor for Meru County was a Senator, he proposed a task force while he was here to determine the dispute between Meru and Isiolo. The result was a bloody dispute that left more than ten people dead. At that time, we recognised that there was no process for altering any boundary of the counties. I am happy to say that the court has finally found that the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights was right. The only way to touch a boundary, if there is a dispute, is through Article 188 of the Constitution which specifies how you will do it. The first thing would be to anchor the 1992 Act in a law as it is. Many Senators have asked me and said that they oppose my Bill. I asked them why? They said that the boundaries I have put in my Bill are not lawful and that they do not recognise them. I told them that I was not the one who did it and referred them to the 1992 Act which was 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."
}