Martha Karua

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 371 to 380 of 2953.

• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I rise in support of this Bill. But I have a few points that I would like to depart from the Mover and the Seconder. In the Bill for vetting of judges, it is necessary that we extend time. But we cannot give the board a blank cheque on time. I want to adopt what Judge Kriegler of the Kriegler Commission once said. That a meeting lasts as long as the time assigned to it. If we do not allocate a specific time to that vetting board, they will make a career, permanent and pensionable, out ... view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: As we begin 2013, when Kenya is expected to have a new Government, a Government pursuant to our Constitution, the Vetting Board should have wound up, finished its work and those serving in the Judiciary should have engaged their best gear to continue with the work. view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: I am also talking about the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). Let them be given the shortest time possible. The TJRC had announced to the country that they had finished their work and they were embarking on report writing. This is a body that needs the shortest time possible. Even one month, in my view, will be enough. So, if the Minister is talking of 45 days, it is enough. Sixty days is too much for people who said they were embarking on report writing. At the very most, we should give them between 45 and 60 days. Let ... view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: The amendments to the Political Parties Act and Elections Act, yes, they are necessary. But let us remember as Members of Parliament that we are making these laws not for ourselves, but for posterity. Let us not take this opportunity to encourage party hopping. Let us make the laws stronger and not weaker. I want to suggest that if the Government has good faith for filling the one-third gender requirement, we should have had a proposal here to amend the Political Parties Act and the Elections Act to compel parties to have one-third of their nominees for contesting on the ... view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: On Section 10 of the Elections Act, which is actually doing away literally with the voter’s card--- That is because they are saying that if you fail to produce a voter’s card, provided your name is on the register, you can vote. I have no quarrel with that. But we must be explicit in that amendment. You must identify yourself sufficiently. If you have no voter’s card, you must then have an identity card or a passport to actually show you are the person who is registered to vote. Otherwise, we can have people with similar names messing about. We ... view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: Article 35 of the Political Parties Act which is dealing with the Registrar of Political Parties is giving the President and the Prime Minister a blank cheque to extend the mechanism to institute the process of bringing in a new Registrar by 21 days. We are already past that time. Why do we want to leave it to the President and the Prime Minister whereas the original law did not give them any mandate to waive? If they start quarrelling, as they sometimes do, we may be stuck forever. Why do we not just count the days which we are ... view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: The going to The Hague in this one is equal to giving the specific number of days. view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: So, indeed, to those who say “Do not be vague,” I say amen. Let us not be vague; let us be specific. So, this is something the Minister can count backwards. We will help you and let us have the number of days. view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in Section 17, which is on the Citizenship Act, we again want to give the Minister of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons a blank cheque to register anybody as a citizen. Giving citizenship in Kenya should be an elaborate process. We are seeking to enhance accountability and the Minister should not have discretion to give citizenship to any individual. view
• 5 Jun 2012 in National Assembly: This is a matter for a board that should be vetting those who apply for citizenship. I am asking that this clause be democratized; it should not be made too easy for a rent-seeking Minister to sell citizenship. We are making this for posterity; we are not looking at who is there now or who will be there tomorrow. It is a law that can serve us well with whatever type of a person. So, here, we expect that the Minister will heed and bring the necessary amendments or we shall bring them. view