Otieno Kajwang

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1061 to 1070 of 1172.

• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this very important Bill. We have actually been putting a lot of pressure on the previous and present Governments to bring this Bill to this House, because the amendment that was made to the Constitution in 1992 was very simple and fundamental. Section 1A of the Constitution says this country shall be governed under a multi-party democracy. That Section so provides, but nothing else was done to make sure that the multi-party democracy that was planted in the Constitution came to fruition. ... view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. That was the chairman of a splinter group of KANU. The hon. Member should listen very carefully, because we are talking about political parties, and there is trouble in KANU. So, this is very important for this country. KANU is the party that earned this country Independence. When there is trouble in KANU, there is trouble in all parties. There is trouble in NARC, FORD and in other parties. That is why we need the Political Parties Bill. So, I want to urge Mr. Biwott to listen very carefully. I started by saying ... view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: When you look at this Bill, you will see that the person who was writing this had an agenda. An officer who is still answerable to the Government pretends that he is at the Commission. So, when there is a conflict between the Registrar and the Commission, the Government will decide who has the power to make that decision. Let me ask you: If the Registrar was to decide that a party will be de-registered, as it is provided later--- I will point that out. If the Registrar was to decide that a party will be de-registered because it is ... view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it reads:- For the purposes of Subsection (1), a political party is formed on an ethnic, age, tribal, racial, regional, linguistic, corporatist--- If its membership or leadership is restricted to or includes only members of a party ethnic--- Who will go through all this. Why are we creating things which will not be done? Why are we creating things that will not be done? Will you go through the register and start combing to find out whether, for example, a Mr. Ondiek: Is he Kisii or Luo? Na huyu Kamau, is he from upandehuu ama ... view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: Or do they speak one language, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. How would you know? First of all, Ondiek comes from Ugenya and speaks another dialect of Luo that I do not understand. view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: I speak Kisuba which he does not understand although I also speak Kijaluo. Will I be deregistered for speaking two languages? Let us not make law for things that are neither here nor there. Law is a very serious matter! We make it for things that matter. That was Article 9. Article 9(3) at page 64 at the top says that a person shall not be a member of two or more political parties at the same time. I like that and that is how it should be. However, what is happening in this country? Unless you fix the Constitution, ... view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: The lure of being in the Cabinet has its benefits. The flag is sweet even to my voters. I may be re-elected just because of that. Unless the Constitution is fixed--- We tried to fix it in the Inter- Parliamentary Parties Group (IPPG) but it was done haphazardly. It was fixed anyway but it has been ignored. Now, the courts have to interpret whether the President has breached it or not because it was not clear in the Constitution. There is a conflict between an Act of Parliament and the Constitution. We have to be very clear; that, before we ... view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: However, you have heard the Government sometimes saying that there is no need for minimum reforms; that those who are looking for minimum reforms are selfish people. They bring a Bill which says that you can only belong to one party while the Constitution says that the President can go anywhere and pick from this House anybody. Then you are not sure whether you are still a member of KANU(A), KANU(B) or KANU(C) as you belong to the Government side. view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: I cannot say more than that! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is something else that I was discussing with Archbishop Ondiek because he has personal experience. One time, he won an election petition but because somebody handled some ballot papers - I do not know whether they were 23 or 24 - they found him guilty of an election offence. So, he did not participate in the subsequent election. This Bill at Article 9(5) says:- "A person who has been deprived of a right to vote---" Maybe, you committed an election offence and now you have been told that ... view
• 19 Apr 2007 in National Assembly: Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I support, but with amendments. view