12 Nov 2019 in Senate:
“if a vacancy arises in the office of the county governor, the members of the county executive committee appointed under clause (2)(b) cease to hold office.” Does it mean that by time the governor is facing charges in a court of law, that seat is vacant? We have a governor, therefore, who for all purposes should reconstitute the county executive and the running of the county government as envisaged by Article 179(7)---
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12 Nov 2019 in Senate:
Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Sen. Olekina has relied heavily on what Justice Mumbi Ngugi said. In her statement, she said that the orders they gave was not to remove the county governor. He went ahead to rely on Swazuri’s case in terms of authorization to access his office. In this instance, the absence of a governor to an office is created or there is controlled access by the courts. In Swazuri’s case, they had said, before the Chairman of the National Land Commission (NLC) could access the office, he must get authorization from the CEO of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption ...
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12 Nov 2019 in Senate:
That is my view. But interestingly enough, Justice Mumbi Ngugi questions the same that, is it practical enough, occasionally, for the CEO of the EACC to be giving authorization for the Governor? In my opinion, the creation of absence of a Governor is not only physical but in terms of functionality of his office.
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7 Nov 2019 in Senate:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.51(1) (a) to make a Statement on the issue of national concern on the financial autonomy and independence of the Judiciary in Kenya. Mr. Speaker, Sir, access to justice for millions of Kenyans is at a risk. As you may be aware, the Judiciary is facing serious financial constraints from the recent statement by the Chief Justice, Hon. David Maraga. Operations of the Judiciary have been crippled by the alleged budget cuts. The Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights has noted this with great concern. ...
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7 Nov 2019 in Senate:
of Madbury vs. Madison 1808, the Supreme Court of the United States of America stated that the most important domain in the separation of State power is an independent Judiciary as the guarantor of the rule of law. In Kenya‟s constitutional development, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000, the Judiciary and the Legislature were consistently emasculated and their powers to check the Executive significantly eroded. Of the three arms of Government, the Judiciary‟s role in checking the Executive was most compromised in effect leaving this institution as an appendage of the Attorney General‟s Office. The Judiciary lacked both operational ...
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7 Nov 2019 in Senate:
Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the benefit and interest of the Senate, if you look at the Judiciary budget and share of the national budget, in the Financial Year 2008/2009, the share of national budget that was allocated to the period of Financial Year 2008/2009 was 0.26 per cent. In the Financial Year 2009/2010, it was 0.29 per cent. In the Financial Year 2010/2011, the percentage of the share was 0.33 per cent. In the Financial Year 2011/2012, it was 0.63 per cent. In the Financial Year of 2012/2013, it was 0.86 per cent. In the Financial Year 2014/2015, it was ...
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7 Nov 2019 in Senate:
Mr. Speaker, Sir, from year 2015, there has been a steady decline of allocation despite that there has been rise of the national Budget up to this financial year where it is Kshs3 trillion. In Financial Year 2015/16, we saw a significant drop to 0.83 per cent. In Financial Year 2016/17, it dropped further to 0.76 per cent. In Financial Year 2017/18, it dropped slightly to 0.7 per cent. In the current financial year, it is at 0.57 per cent, which is a very sad state of affairs despite the fact that the national Budget is more than Kshs3 trillion.
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7 Nov 2019 in Senate:
My Committee is fully aware of the prevailing financial and economic climate and the budgetary constraints within which we are operating. We are also aware that the onus to ensure access to justice is on the Judiciary. As a result, it requires a significant amount of funds from the national Budget to fulfil its constitutional obligations. However, even in times of economic crisis, an appropriate level of funding must be made available to enable the Judiciary to fulfil its constitutional obligations.
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7 Nov 2019 in Senate:
Funding of the judicial system is an issue of significance to any government or society and more so to the economy. Resultantly, financing the judicial system must not be done in a manner that undermines the independence of the judiciary, impedes access to justice and erodes the gains that have been made so far.
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7 Nov 2019 in Senate:
Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Executive control over the national Budget undermines the other two branches of Government; that is, the Judiciary and Parliament. The Constitution of Kenya cures this by separating the annual budgets of the Judiciary and Parliament from the budget of the national Executive. Each branch of Government must submit its budget independently to Parliament.
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