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"content": "(Loud consultations)"
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"speaker_name": "Hon. Kingi",
"speaker_title": "The Speaker",
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"content": " Order, hon. Senators! May the Chair JLAHRC be heard in silence, please."
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The last one among the Bills is the County Governments Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, (Senate Bills No.2 of 2024). Currently, the Committee has one Bill pending before it, namely, the County Governments State Officers’ Removal from Office Procedure Bill (Senate Bills No.34 of 2024). It is in the process of finalising its consideration. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Committee has considered a total of three petitions during the first quarter of the session. Out of these, the Ccommittee, jointly with the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, successfully concluded consideration of a petition by Mr. Laban Omosundi regarding the restriction of county governments from hiring law firms for representation in court cases. Presently, the Committee is in the process of concluding consideration of the two remaining petitions. Four Statements were ongoing from the previous reporting period and two statements were sought from the Committee during the period under review. The Committee is in the process of considering the statements to conclusion. It is in this The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
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"id": 1563955,
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
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"content": "regard that it has made arrangements for engagement with the respective Senators, stakeholders and where necessary conduct site/county visits to ascertain the situation on the ground. Mr. Speaker, Sir, two new statements during the period under review were sought by Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda, SC, MP and Sen. Raphael Chimera. Both touched on the affairs of the Judiciary. In order to expedite consideration of these statements, the Committee is presently passing responses from the relevant officers in the Judiciary and shall shortly submit its report. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Committee is currently considering one inquiry sought by Sen. Catherine Mumma, MP, into the status of the indigenous people in Kenya. Currently, the Committee is further in the process of organising for a high-level meeting with State and non-State actors to comprehensively deliberate and dispense with this particular statement. During the period under review, the Committee also considered other additional legislative businesses which have been reported. Firstly, the Committee concluded consideration of Session Paper No.3 of 2023 on the Kenya Policy on Public Participation, which is key in Parliament's role of meaningful and adequate stakeholder and public engagement that enriches the legislation enacted. Secondly, the Committee is also in the process of considering the status of implementation of the Resolution of the Senate of 24th July, 2024 and has already engaged with relevant institutions such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to follow up on measures taken to tackle corruption in the counties. The Committee is further scheduled to meet with other key entities tasked with implementing these particular resolutions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, during this period under review, the Committee also met with external stakeholders, among them, the Kenyans in Diaspora Technical Working Group and considered legislative proposals aimed at bolstering participation of Kenyans in Diaspora in the general elections. This meeting will inform Committee recommendations to legislative amendments which are coming in due course. In conclusion, I wish to thank the Office of the Speaker and the Office of the Clerk of the Senate for the continuous support accorded to the Committee in undertaking its work. I also thank the Members of the Committee for their commitment and contributions during the Committee activities and sittings. We have attached a schedule of the Bills that we have made reference to. One of the very specific ones in that schedule is the latest, the Presidential Memorandum on the referral of the Conflict of Interest Bill, which has already been committed to this Committee. The Committee is scheduled to consider it on 13th May this year. A report will thereafter be tabled to the House. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have another Statement."
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
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"content": "NOMINATION AND VETTING OF CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF IEBC"
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"id": 1563958,
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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a statement on the nomination and vetting of the Chairperson and members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). This statement is issued pursuant to Standing Order No. (56)(1)(a) of the Senate Standing Orders. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No. (56)(1)(a) of the Senate Standing Orders to make a statement relating to a matter for which the Committee is responsible, namely the nomination and vetting of the chairperson and members of the IEBC."
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"id": 1563959,
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"content": "As Members may recall, this House passed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Act, 2024, Act No. 9 of 2024, which paved the way for the appointment of a Selection Panel for the nomination of the Chairperson and members of the IEBC. The panel was constituted, carried out its work and submitted a Report to His Excellency the President on Tuesday, 6th May, 2025. Subsequently, on 9th May, 2025, His Excellency the President submitted the names of the nominees for the position of Chairperson and members of the IEBC to Parliament for vetting and approval to enable their formal appointment and swearing-in. I take this opportunity to commend the Chairperson, members and secretariat of the Selection Panel that worked diligently to ensure that it delivered on its mandate of identifying and recommending persons for appointment as chairperson and members of the IEBC. I also thank His Excellency the President for moving expeditiously to submit the names to Parliament for approval, noting that the country has been without an electoral body since the President declared the seven positions vacant on 14th February, 2023 and 1st March, 2023. The nomination, vetting and approval of Chairperson and members of the IEBC is governed by Article 250 of the Constitution, Section 5 of the IEBC Act, and Section 3 and 8 of the Public Appointments Parliamentary Approval Act, Cap 7F. Under these provisions, the National Assembly is mandated to consider the suitability of the nominees and to either approve or reject the nominees for appointment to the respective offices. I note that this process has commenced with the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee scheduled to table its report in the National Assembly on the 27th May, 2025."
},
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"id": 1563960,
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"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, the work of the IEBC spans both levels of Government, in particular, the election of county governors and members of county assemblies as well as the delimitation of electoral boundaries and matters that affect the counties and their governments. Therefore, as the Senate’s Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee, we take a keen interest in the process for the nomination and appointment of the IEBC commissioners. In our considered view, this is a process that should be undertaken jointly by both Houses, as has been the practice with the approval of nomination to state officers where their functions affect the two levels of government. I also wish to highlight that under The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1563961,
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"content": "Section 103(3) of the Elections Act, the election regulations formulated by the IEBC from time to time are submitted to and approved by the National Assembly to the exclusion of the Senate, even where the subject of the regulations is clearly a county government matter. This amendment to replace the word ‘Parliament’ with the word ‘National Assembly’ was passed in the year 2012 before the Senate was in place and was meant to apply only to the first general elections upon coming into effect of the Act, that is, the 2013 General Elections. However, since then, attempts to amend the provisions to have the regulations considered by both Houses have been frustrated. As Members may recall, this was one of the amendments that the Senate made to the Elections (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2024, (Senate Bill No. 29 of 2024), which is currently pending before the National Assembly. Indeed, this is one of the Bills that the National Assembly has kept in its shelves longer than it is supposed to. As I urge our counterparts to not claw back on the said provision, I also wish to state categorically that this is one of the provisions that, as a Committee and as a House, we will not go back on. The forum for election is not the only one where the mandate of this particular House has been undermined through statutes enacted by Parliament. There have been several attempts, some successful, where the National Assembly has moved to amend legislation to delete the word ‘Parliament’ and replace it with the word ‘National Assembly’, thus taking away from the Senate functions that should otherwise be performed or undertaken by both Houses. A key example is the Treaty Making and Ratification Act, CAP 4D, which the National Assembly amended in the year 2014 to replace references to Parliament with the word National Assembly. The effect of this has been that key treaties, conventions and agreements that Kenya enters, even when they expressly relate to devolved functions, are not submitted to or considered by the Senate. This directly undermines the constitutional mandate of the Senate as set out under Article 96, which includes to represent and protect the interests of the counties and their governments. Members will recall that on three separate occasions, the Senate has processed Bills to reinstate the process for ratification of treaties to be a shared function between the two Houses, particularly where such instruments directly affect the mandates, functions and operations of county governments. None of these Bills have seen the light of day in the National Assembly. This deliberate clawback on the Senate's constitutional mandate through statutes which are subsidiary to the Constitution is something that we must not countenance as a House and we must stand ready to challenge it. I, therefore, wish to bring these matters to the attention of the Senate and to urge colleagues and the House to stand firmly in safeguarding its constitutional mandate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for the opportunity."
}
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}