James Opiyo Wandayi

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1331 to 1340 of 1604.

• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is important even though the Speaker exercised the discretion he is given under Standing Order No.47(3)(b) that this discretion is taken not to be open ended. The discretion under that Standing Order cannot be open ended. It must be exercised within the confines of constitutionalism, democracy and principles of good governance. view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, if you look at Article 246(3)(b) of the Constitution where the National Police Service Commission is mandated to exercise disciplinary control over and remove persons holding or acting in offices within the Police Service, even if we were to believe that Article 246 conflicts with Article 245 which creates the office of the Inspector General and gives it powers, the logical step to take should be to bring a constitutional amendment Bill to this House to cure the problem. However, we cannot attempt to amend the Constitution through the back door as we are just about to ... view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, the powers conferred on the National Police Service Commission under Article 246 are not transferrable to any other authority or person through a mere Act of Parliament. That is what this amendment Bill is proposing to do and if you look at it keenly, the amendment Bill is attempting to redefine the meaning of “disciplinary control” by inserting an additional clause, Clause 4. This is by defining “disciplinary control” to mean very many other things that are very vague. They are all over here. I cannot go through them because of time but one of them is ... view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Commission cannot just perform the functions of rubberstamping as the Inspector General has done. The problems we have had in this country over the years are that powers have been concentrated in the hands of one individual formerly the Commissioner of Police, which powers have been misused to the disadvantage of the rank and file of the police officers. The junior police officers in this country have suffered over the years. Some of them have served for over 30 years without getting a promotion because of the powers that have been invested in one hand. That ... view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, if this House goes ahead and passes this Bill in its current form, it will be going against the Constitution. It will be reversing the gains we have made in this country on police reforms. It will be taking us back to the old dark days when the police service was a tool used by politicians to frustrate the citizens. view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, this House cannot go down in history as a House which negated the gains that have been made through this Constitution, and that were realised through the sweat and blood of Kenyans. If you look at Article 245(2)(b) of the Constitution, it states:- “The Inspector-General shall exercise independent command over the National Police Service and perform any other functions prescribed by national legislation.” view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Mark my words. The words of the Constitution are so clear – “The Inspector General shall exercise independent command over the National Police Service.” That is fine but if you look at what is being proposed in the National Police Service (Amendment) Bill which I am sure is coming later, it is saying under New Clause 8(A) that: “Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law, independent command of the Inspector General in relation to the service envisioned in Article 245 means that the Inspector General shall be responsible for all matters relating to the command and discipline.” view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Bill. It is important to note that this Bill is intended to give effect to Article 34 of the Constitution. The matter of the freedom of the media is so important that when debating this Bill, we need to take stock of where we have come from as a country. If you look at Article 34(5), this Parliament is expected to enact a legislation that will provide for the establishment of a body that will be independent of control by the Government. ... view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: Now, they have introduced a new word “discipline” in the Bill. They are conferring on the Inspector General powers of disciplinary control, which powers are not given to the Inspector General in the Constitution. The Constitution vests those powers squarely in the National Police Service Commission. We cannot use an ordinary Act of Parliament to amend the Constitution. If we want to amend the Constitution, we bring forth an amendment Bill and amend the Constitution to cure any inconsistencies that could be there; to go through the backdoor and attempt to change the Constitution through a mere Act of Parliament ... view
• 13 Nov 2013 in National Assembly: the media from interference by the Executive, then the powers of the Cabinet Secretary in the appointment of a tribunal to determine the membership of the Council should be shared. That power of the Cabinet Secretary in forming the tribunal should be shared with Parliament, so that he or she does not determine solely who sits on that tribunal, which has the powers to recommend the sacking of a member of the Council. It is important that the Media Council remains as independent as practically possible for it to be able to serve the members of the media fraternity effectively. ... view