Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have signed the Report and I was told it has to come to you for approval before it is tabled here. So, I do not know whether you have approved it.

Okay, we will revisit the matter later. Next Order!

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to give notice of the following Motion:- THAT, pursuant to Standing Order 28(4), the Senate resolves to alter its Calendar in respect of Part III of the Fourth Session for the sittings scheduled to resume on 20th September, 2016 instead commences on 27th September, 2016. Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you.

The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Members, Standing Order No.39 allows me to reorder the business on the Order Paper for the convenience of the House. I, therefore, propose that we start with Order No.12 as we wait for more Members to come.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion in an amended form:- THAT, pursuant to Standing Order 28(4), the Senate resolves to alter its Calendar in respect of Part III of the Fourth Session for the sittings scheduled to resume on 20th September, 2016 instead commences on 4th October, 2016. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will be very brief. Indeed, I join my brother to laud Senators for being readily available to be called upon to disrupt their recess to come to attend to matters of national importance and national concern. If you look at the input we have had even the previous sittings that were extraordinary, Members were sitting for long hours beyond the normal sitting time. I can envisage the intended proceedings in the matter of the Governor of Nyeri, this House maybe obligated to sit sometimes if need be up to midnight; meaning in one single day, there will be about three sessions. Consequently, the Senators have only about ten months to the next elections and we need to give them time to recess; to go and fraternise with their constituents. They need to strategise for those who want to become governors and for those who want to be re-elected as Senators. For those who want to be presidents like me need time to go all over the country to market our ideals so that we can get rid of this corrupt Jubilee Government and bring a more responsive government into the country. Therefore, I urge Members to support this procedural Motion so that we can resume on the 4th of October 2016. With those few remarks I beg to second.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker Sir. I want to strongly support this Motion and also thank you for deciding to vary the Order Paper so that we deal first with this Motion before we come to the other substantive business. You deserve this commendation from me for this variance of the Order Paper. As you will see this morning, the Jubilee side is empty and not for nothing. So I believe that as we deal with this Motion, it will give them time to find their way into the House. It is not for nothing because I have seen on social media this morning The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I appreciate the concern of the Senator of Kakamega County because, truly, we need numbers. It is true also that my side today is looking – temporarily - as if most of my colleagues are on the way. That notwithstanding, can the Senator for Kakamega, a man I respect a lot for fidelity to facts, laws and procedures; tell us which place in this country is called Eurobond Towers? Where are the towers and why are they called so? Can he substantiate that Jubilee Senators are in such a place? Otherwise, he must withdraw and apologise for trivializing a very important party activity that is taking place in the history of this country today. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to profusely apologise if the Majority Leader thinks that I was trivializing an important issue. I was not. In fact, I was acknowledging the grand event that is going to take place for more than two days.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Point of information!

I would like to be informed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would wish to inform the distinguished Senator for Kakamega County, also known as the bullfighter, that in response to what the distinguished Majority Leader has asked, Eurobond House is situated on Forest Road. It is an eight storied building, clad with a glass facade and constructed by a man called Mr. Kiarie from Kiambu. Mr. Kiarie Mbugua is very well known in many circles in this Town. Lawyers like Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, Sen. Wako, Sen. Orengo, Sen. Kilonzo and I, know of the doctrine of Res ipsa loquitor . As a student of law yourself, I am sure you have come across this doctrine Res ipsa loquitor . The Auditor General- and this is what I am informing Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale - the Treasury under the command of one Mr. Rotich has been completely unable to show any single project in this country where Eurobond was expended – Kshs.253 billion. In the absence of that explanation, the opulence and obscenity we are seeing in town today can only be interpreted to be a beneficiary of the non-accountability of the Eurobond money.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, on a point of order. I appreciate the fact that my leader is a presidential candidate because I saw him launching his bid. But is he in order to say that indeed the headquarters of Jubilee is the fruit of stealing of Eurobond money while he is also a presidential candidate who is going to use businessmen in town and good friends in town? Will they also be the beneficiaries of Eurobond for the money that he is going to use to campaign? Is he not directly so a presidential candidate and he is about to receive billions from Kenyans who are well-wishers?

Order Members! There is something known as being relevant. This is about the calendar and not locations. I had given Sen. Wetangula inference. You must exclude all other possibilities in order to make the kind of inference you are making. Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, indeed as I said at the opening of my contribution, the Senators from Jubilee have started coming in. so, you did a good thing. As I join my colleagues from Jubilee in celebrating this unique unprecedented show of might and opulence, I must also underscore that as “ Mtetezi wa wanyonge ”, I believe all on the side of Jubilee is not bad. There is one person on the Jubilee side whom we shall celebrate. I have never met her in my life. For years, Mama Margaret Kenyatta has been fighting to get at least one The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

What is it, Sen. Kagwe?

On a point of order Mr. Speaker, Sir. Is Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale in order to talk about 47 vans that have been bought by Jubilee when, this morning, the radio is reporting that Governor Hassan Joho is launching and flagging off 47 buses, limousines and 800 other combined forces of vehicles that are going all round the country for Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD)? Is he in order?

Mr. Speaker, sir, indeed I am perfectly in order and proud to be associated with 47 vehicles that will symbolize hard work as espoused by CORD. CORD has not controlled any Eurobond. So, the money we have is from the blood and sweat of the Kenyans who support integrity and proper use of public funds. The money Jubilee has is the proceeds of Eurobond. Sen. Wetangula could not have put it clearer.

Order, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale! You are now completely out of order. Conclude and be relevant.

For that reason, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to strongly support this Motion and hope that we will have time when our recess is extended for us to meet our contacts that keep on informing and giving us evidence of the looting that is done by Jubilee. I tell you there is a Luyha song; I cannot be allowed by the Speaker to sing. If only you could allow me, I would sing just one stanza.

Order, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale! How I wish I could allow you to sing. I fact, I would enjoy your singing but unfortunately; this is not the place, the time nor the subject to conduct a solo. What is it, Sen. Kagwe?

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I was just wondering, in view of the urgency with which the honourable Senator feels like singing, would I be in order to propose that you allow him to sing the song in English?

Conclude, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. Sen. Kagwe is completely out of order. The only way the song might make meaning is in vernacular and he has no translation facilities here.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I really thank you for protecting me. On a serious note, the import of the song is that you might abuse a position when you are in public office but at end time, thou shall be asked, what did you do? “ Ulirevwa marevo ”. Thank you and I support.

Honorable Senators, I have two Communications to make. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. You have once again risen to the occasion. It was not clear to my mind yesterday how easy the process would be even as we went into that decision, but listening to you, it is clear that it is doable. However, in view of the fact that this is one of the most important decisions that this Senate can make, not just on a governor, but you never know, in the fullness of time, on a President of the Republic of Kenya. Since you are now setting the precedence, you have spoken to the issue of a deliberative session that we shall retreat to. In my best knowledge and I believe it is the same to most of you who have been in Parliament for many years, before we vote on any matter, we debate and we never retreat to go and consider what we were debating so as then to emerge and say we will vote. This will help in convincing the members of the public that we shall not be retreating to go and cut positions or persuade people to change positions. Could you clarify further what it is that we are going to be doing in the deliberative session? You can do it now or later.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also want to congratulate you for the very wise ruling that you have made with regard to this very important activity that the Senate is going to undertake in the next few days. I did understand that there will be two parties or two processes going on. The Committee will be there to guide the process. Of course, as you have said to summon the witnesses and the others, and, at the same time, we shall also have the plenary. My understanding was that the Committee is still going to be playing a role---

Order, Senators! That is why he is seeking clarification. Proceed Sen. (Prof.) Lesan.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, that was my understanding. However, I stand guided if I misunderstood it. We do know that we will be faced with a lot of information. There The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you Mr. Speaker, Sir. Once again, your ruling and guidance is very clear on what ought to be done. I support your ruling. We must remind ourselves that we are now sitting as a quasi-judicial body. Therefore, as we follow the rules of the House as you have guided, we have to assume a posture of a quasi-judicial body. In as much as every Senator has the right to raise many points of order in the course of the hearing because those are the rules of the House, however, I plead with Members to be a bit restrained on points of order. We should also be a bit restrained on the light moments that we normally have at times. The light moments are good, but in this instance since we are a quasi-judicial body, we should be a bit restrained. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on the issue of deliberative sessions that the Senator for Kakamega has raised, there is a point at which we can have it if it becomes necessary. Even in the Supreme Court they always retire and have their own deliberative sessions before issuing a judgement. Therefore, we should avoid the impression that would be created that this deliberative session will be to cut deals. Members of the public normally think that when politicians go into private sessions, they are there to cut deals and in the process, they never know what passes. It should be made clear that, that deliberative session is not there to knock on the heads of people, so that we agree on the same thing. Each Senator has a right to vote according to their conscience and opinion based on their own evaluation of the evidence adduced before the House. Therefore, it should not be misconstrued that even if we go into a deliberative session, undue pressure will be applied on the Senators to agree. That is not the case. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support your ruling.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is wisdom in a deliberative session. There are some matters that are legal and others evidential. It is fair that Senators do not rise on matters that are legal and speak to things that may cause problems. Maybe the Communication should have been that we will retreat not to seek a consensus, but to distill the facts, as Sen. Wako suggests. In the case of a special Committee there should be a report to be debated in the Plenary. I do not know whether the HANSARD itself will be the report of the deliberations, after we come back to debate; that will be the report. That portion would augment the position by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale as to what would happen during that session. It should not look as if we will deliberate, make a decision and then come here and play to the gallery as to the decision that we have already made. That is the position. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for the direction that you have given. What I heard is that an opportunity will be given to the county assembly to argue its case and also the governor to defend himself. What I did not hear is whether there will be an opportunity for the Senators to interrogate or question both parties. We need that clarification. Since we shall be sitting as a quasi-judicial body, in this process it will be important that party positions should not come to play. We should look at the facts and the law, but not take The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I support and compliment you for coming up with a clear direction on how to proceed on this. None of us was under the illusion that it was going to be an easy process. I want to comment on the beginning and the end of it, more so, on the comments by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. When we are in a Committee dealing with impeachment proceedings, it is the same 11 Members who listen to the same charges and answers at the same time. However, when we are in the Committee of the Whole, there is that little challenge that Members come and go. Therefore, in the opening session, there will be need to clearly spell out the charges. Again, since the clerks will be writing down what the charges and responses are, I suggest that, that session should not be for debate. The session is for what has been recorded in the proceedings; the same way a Committee may retreat to debate whether or not they agree, because they have to present a report to the House. In this case, it is seeking a reasonable concurrence on what was said and what the response was, so that there is a reasonable concurrence on what we will be voting on. Therefore, when we come here, each delegation will vote according to their understanding of what was clarified from the records by the Clerk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

We should confine ourselves to the clarifications being sought. Sen. Obure.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you for the useful guidance. The Sitting we will have next week should be a normal Senate Sitting, except that it is quasi-judicial . I am not sure whether we should put on the gloomy faces on that occasion, as suggested by Sen. Wako. I do not think that, that would be necessary. However, my understanding of the deliberative session is that we will sit in closed door session to seek clarifications, so that we can focus on the key areas before going into voting. I just need some clarification on that. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also thank you for the direction. Indeed, it will be an opportunity to understand a plenary process. As an institution we need to be very careful, so that we deal with the matter with decorum. After reading the allegations, the clerks should guide us through questioning. We should set rules that will confine us within what we received from the county assembly, so that we do not personalize issues and make the session a theatre. It should be serious business that will make people appreciate the Senate as a House that can deal with matters.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am grateful for the guidance that you have given to the House. However, there are two issues that I would like to seek further clarification on. Normally, when courts go into conference and eventually pronounce themselves on an issue by way of a verdict and the judgement, that judgement would explain why a particular decision was reached. If that decision is reached and there is no explanation or reasons anchoring that decision, then it will not be in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution. Similarly, the decisions of the House are anchored through debate. People get to understand why we vote in a certain fashion following a debate. I am worried that if we retreat after hearing without some debate prior to retreating or after, then it will be difficult for people to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I join my colleagues in thanking you for giving the clear guidance and direction on how we will move on this matter. There have been speculations on social media and some people were already thinking that you gave a judgment. Some people did not hear what you read yesterday and some want to condemn other Senators for contributing the way they did. It is good that you have given the direction on what you meant by this. That is what we needed. I also saw on television that some people thought that the Committee option was rejected because of claims of bribery. Those are stories that we have never heard of here since we had the four or five impeachment Motions. Kenyans need to be assured that the Senate is here as their custodian and the option that we chose is also allowed in our Standing Orders; that the whole House can turn out to be a Committee and that is what we have chosen. Thank you for giving the clear direction and to assure the people of Nyeri County that their issue is in safe hands.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is the first time that the Senate is dealing with such an issue in the plenary. Let me liken what will be taking place here from Tuesday with the Select Committee that just concluded its work on matters to do with the IEBC and elections. Normally, the mode of debate in this House is that time is allocated to every contributor. Taking into consideration that the Governor will be here to be interrogated, the Office of the Speaker needs to come up with guidelines on how to deal with that matter. Otherwise, it could be an issue that will take a lot of time and the interrogations could be complicated. So, I need clarification on the timing of the contributions. Will it be based on what has been the mode before or the approach will be similar to the one that we used to conduct in the Select Committee?

Finally, Sen. Kagwe.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for such an informed ruling. However, we have grown to expect from you no less than rulings that will be referred to in the future. For me, there are only two things. First, I think it is important for us to understand the difference in etiquette between a normal sitting of the House and that of a quasi-judicial House. I have chaired an impeachment Committee, and I am aware of the time that sometimes it takes. Sometimes, we would sit all the way to midnight and so on even though the report was eventually rejected by the House. However, there are certain issues. For example, is the quorum for a quasi-judicial sitting the same as that of the House? If we do not have a quorum of the House, do we have a quorum for a quasi-judicial sitting? What happens to those of us who go out and come in as we normally do and then ask a question that has already been asked by someone else? What happens when the witnesses’ side will have several witnesses, presumably brought by both sides of the House? What is the procedure for our questioning of these witnesses and at what point do we question them? Is it the whole House, a team or how do we proceed with that? In other words, I am raising etiquette issues and the difference between those two settings. I The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Members, 11 of you have sought clarifications. Definitely, being a new procedure, it is understandable. You have raised issues about what this deliberative session in camera is and whether it is both a Committee and plenary. Sen. Wako, in obvious display of an exemplary career, basically raised issues of unnecessary points of order and counseled us on basically what both the deliberative sessions would do. That was supported by the decision of Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. following definitely in the great tradition and also using words like distilling facts but also raising the issue of the report which was also supported by Sen. Orengo, who also raised the issue of how do we explain the reasons for the decisions that were reached. The issue of how Senators will interrogate that was raised by Sen. Ndiema and who also cautioned against partisan politics being introduced. Sen. Muthama raised the issue of the timings. Sen. Kagwe raised issues on quorum, repetitive questions and procedure of dealing with witnesses. First, in a communication, we cannot bring all the issues. So, we only brought the broad issues that basically give you the general direction of things. That is why we have proposed a meeting on Tuesday morning between 9.00 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. for you to go through the rules which we have formulated on the way we will conduct the sitting. So, that will be a session for us to understand most of these issues that you have raised. Our proposal will be to start with a

for those rules and then start the formal sitting from 11.00 a.m. So, that will clarify a lot of things. The deliberative session is in camera and it has been explained. The idea is that we are conducting a hearing and we have the county assembly acting like the prosecutor and the governor as the defendant. So, the prosecutor will prosecute and the defendant will defend the charges. There will be enough questions from the Senators. The proposal is that each of the Senators will not have more than two minutes. It can also be one question per Senator. That is why we made the provision that the Speaker will be moderating as we proceed. However, at the Kamukunji, we will give the proposals and agree collectively on how many questions each Senator will ask and the time period each will need. That is why that session is important. There will be no Committee. The House rejected the Committee method. Therefore, we have the other one. In the words of the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, “we cannot engage European Union through the back door.” There will be no Committee but it will be a full Plenary chaired by the Speaker from where I sit.

The points of order will not be encouraged unless it is critical. However, it will be brought to the attention of the Chair first so as to allow the Member to raise it. I shall determine if it is necessary or not. Generally, we will not accept many points of order. We have said the process is quasi-judicial . We are trying to marry the two. We have looked at the examples of the Senate in the United States of America (USA) and other jurisdictions and we are satisfied with this procedure. However, the reasons for the decision and the Report will not be available. This is your baby and you will have listened to the charges being substantiated. You will have heard the defence and the deliberative session will be to help The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I did not intend to talk but after listening to you, I am worried about a small issue which the Speaker might want to entertain in your further reflection on this matter between now and Tuesday. It is the issue of reasons. As my senior Sen. Orengo said, which I support, we shall sit as a quasi-judicial body. One of the indispensable requirements of procedural natural justice as opposed to substantial natural justice is that a decision that comes out of such a quasi-judicial process must be provided - obviously in writing - and reasons for it must be given. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am worried. I know you have thought about it extensively but between now and Tuesday, maybe there will be need for you to reflect further. I am not trying to challenge your ruling but it is something that you can think about and see whether it can be modified in one way or the other. Off the record, I am willing to share with the secretariat or yourself what I am thinking. This is something we had consulted with the Senate Minority Leader on how it can be modified slightly so that the issue of a decision and the reasons for that decision can still emanate from this process. I am sorry but I just thought it should go on record that that is something worth considering.

Order Senators. We have done one hour. I will just take it as work in progress. What the Senate Majority Leader has noted is significant but I must inform him that it is one area that I am comfortable with in terms of Article 47 on fair administrative action. That applies more to the executive institutions. This is a legislative process but I take your intervention and I will interrogate the matter further.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I did not intend to speak to this but my distinguished brother having raised the matter, we indeed discussed extensively about it with him at the Office of the Clerk yesterday. When I retreated to do further reading and look at the comparable jurisdictions, including Philippines, I noted that in all those jurisdictions - all grounded in the common law system like we do - the proceedings, once they end, the House goes to a direct vote. Nobody retreats to write a reasoned judgment or ruling. It is the vote of the House that is the decision and not what the Speaker or Clerk will write but what the vote will come out of the House is the decision. This is what is practiced in almost all jurisdictions similar to ours.

Hon. Members, you may recall that in most of the decisions that you make, you have never demanded written reasons. This is because Parliament works on The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate. REPORT ON THE ELECTION OFFENCES BILL Report of the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on the Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2016. REPORT ON THE ELECTION LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL Report of the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.37 of 2016).

(Sen. (Prof) Kindiki): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that The Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2016) be now read a Second Time. I intend to take a short period of time in moving this Bill. This Bill is one of the two Bills that were heavily and extensively negotiated as a result of extraordinary events that happened in our country a few months ago, regarding political differences on the issue of the composition of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). As a result, this House passed a Motion to establish a select Committee, which was a Joint Select Committee of both Houses of Parliament. That Committee brought a report that was approved unanimously in this House. Part of that Report consisted of two Bills namely, The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, which is a part of the today’s order later and the current Bill; The Election Offences Bill. I will not speak much because these Bills were drafted as a result of the deep, extensive and frank consultations that took place during the process of the Joint Select Committee. I will just highlight some of the key clauses that are important and then Members can contribute. It is my hope that this being a sui generis legislation, in the sense that it is negotiated legislation, the common divergences will be minimal. I hope that the Senators will pass this Bill, so that we can immediately put in place the process of the proposed reconstitution of the IEBC and set the country back on track in terms of the electoral process. The elections are 11 months away from now. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

What is it, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale?

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the Senate Majority Leader in order to deny Kenyans an opportunity to hear it from the horse’s mouth that Jubilee is the party he is referring to? It is the one that is using all manner of tricks, including promising innocent, unknowing Members of Parliament (MPs) development if they joined Jubilee. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, could you compel him to make that disclosure?

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, you are completely out of order! Proceed, Majority Leader.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart says that the very advanced in age, the very old women are always uncomfortable when dry bones are mentioned. He said that long time ago. I do not know in what context. However, in the context of Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, I am not under any obligations to disclose what I intended to disclose. In any case, I have already given my reason. I do not want to disrupt debate. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wish to second this Bill. I start by saluting the Committee of 14 ably headed by Members of this House, the distinguished Senator for Siaya and the Senator who doubles as “the King” under whose jurisdiction, the Senate Majority Leader falls. This Committee did an exemplary job, at least, at the end of a foul mood where people were injured, lives lost and the country had come to a level where uncertainty was becoming the order of the day. You heard of business people in Nairobi still counting their losses and The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Whereas I agree, I pray that words from Sen. Wetangula’s mouth land to God’s ears, that my wallet may be as full. As he prays for that, is he in order to propose that I actually commit electoral offences by the definition of this law?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is obvious that the distinguished Senator for Nyeri was not listening and he was not even ready to prosecute a point of order because the reason he stood up to say “point of order” is because the nominated Senator sitting ahead of him looked at him suggestively. He then stood up and said; “point of order”. What I was talking about is the future. Yesterday, I said how honourable you are and I cannot change my opinion. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Clause 6 of the Bill creates an offence by members of staff of the commission during the electoral process. Such offences include allowing people who pretend not to know how to read and write to be assisted. Although we are passing this Bill as it is, it would have been done better. It is also an offence for clerks to deliberatively destroy, deface or reject ballot papers. This is very important and this is what you saw during last elections. At Bomas of Kenya, the electoral commission created what they called “the ninth candidate” and this were the spoilt ballots. At the time they maliciously and criminally disabled the electronic transmission system to go to manual so that they could cheat, the spoilt ballots had reached over 600,000 even before half the ballots were counted. If electoral officers have been bribed, intimidated or both and are determined to rig out a candidate, all they will do is to deliberately mark in two boxes for anybody voting for Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale of Kakamega. They will mark for him and somebody else and that becomes a spoilt vote. At the end of the day, the Senator for Kakamega would have garnered or ought to have garnered 500 votes, which is the maximum you can get in a station. Out of those 500, he will end up with 100 acceptable ballots and 400 spoilt ballots. Even at the level of the law of probability, it is unlikely that 400 out of 500 people can cast their votes wrongly. This is what we are trying to cure and the officers of the IEBC found doing this will again be dealt with firmly and harshly. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are also situations where electoral officers maliciously exclude people from voting. In the countryside, many of our voters are either semi-educated or uneducated. They go into a polling room and may find some harsh-looking fellow with half- moon glasses looking at them and telling them; “get out of here!” That could make someone to The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Thank you Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the Bill and thank both the Majority and the Minority leaders for moving and seconding the Bill. I also want to thank the 14 Members of Parliament from the National Assembly and the Senate who worked hard in order to come up with this Bill and the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill 2016. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, at the outset, I want to plead with the DPP because this Bill, the manner it has been crafted and the amendments that are contained in relation to the law currently was as a result of the participation and the contribution of the office of the DPP. Now that there are people who are facing criminal charges on account of their campaign to bring about this process, the DPP should use the goodwill that was created by this process; the establishment of the select committee as a basis of withdrawing all the charges against the people who may have been arraigned in court on matters that are related to the various campaigns which have been made out in relation to these Bills. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, one of them is a Member of this House; Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. I cannot know why somebody like him would be charged with an offence of this nature because I know him well; that he would not commit offences like fraud or stealing anybody’s property but this was in relation to the campaigns that are going on. I am not forgetting the “Pangani six” who include Members from both the Senate and the National Assembly. In the Senate, we had Sen. Muthama. I plead with him in the spirit which this matter was discussed, negotiated and concluded, he should withdraw those charges. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as a precedence set by the Attorney-General Emeritus, Sen. Wako at one time when we had done the process of bringing about reconciliation and unity in this country. He discontinued many charges against many elected leaders including myself---

What is your point of order, Sen. Kagwe?

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I wanted to propose and this would not apply to Sen. Orengo, given his work on this Bill and so on. I want to propose, given the time and the fact that we do want to get ahead with passing this Bill, we know Sen. Orengo has done a good job of negotiating this Bill and if he has read it, then we have also read it. I wanted to propose that we limit the contributions to a maximum of five minutes. Since I am going to be a contributor, I am proposing limitation of my own time so that we are able to make progress on it. Would I be in order to propose that?

Yes. I think I am going to agree with the Senator because I can see we still have almost seven people who want to contribute to this. I know, may be, Sen. Wako may want to use more than five minutes as the Committee Chair. So, I could allow Sen. Orengo but in case he feels he can also shorten so that Sen. Wako can have more time. For the rest, we can reduce to five minutes. In fact, I will want the House if possible to make sure that before we suspend the sitting, we finish with order Nos. 4 and 5 in the matter of debating because we may not have numbers to vote but the debates can be done. Proceed, Sen. Orengo.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I appreciate the spirit in which the Senator for Nyeri County is bringing that point of order. I will try to be quick. I was saying that Sen. Wako withdrew many criminal prosecutions against elected leaders and other public officials in relation to charges that were politically instigated during his time. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the reason for this Bill was partly to have a stand-alone statute so that it is not part of the Elections Act. I think is as it should be. Secondly, the more The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, our systems had gone down. You have to make your requests again. I remember the person who was following Sen. Orengo was Sen. Wako.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. I am pleased to report to the House that although this Bill was referred to our Committee yesterday afternoon, we were able to meet and discuss it. The Committee was able to conduct a public hearing. As you know, the law requires public participation. Although there had been public participation at the hearings of the Joint Committee, we felt that it was also necessary for us to conduct that public participation because we were now discussing a Bill and not a Motion. I will not go into the details of the offences that have been outlined in this Bill because, to me, the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader have adequately addressed the details. In brevity of time, I will not do that, except just to point out that the Bill consolidates the election offences into one Act. I have carefully read both the existing election offences and the proposed election offences. I can confirm to this House that in consolidating, most offences and penalties prescribed remain the same. It was merely an issue of consolidation. There are just a few cases where the Committee recommended and increased penalty. One of these areas was Clause 3 which relates to offences of the register of voters where the existing penalty is a fine not exceeding Kshs100,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both. That has been increased and rightly so, from Kshs100,000 to Kshs2 million. It says a fine not exceeding Kshs2 million and imprisonment not exceeding six years, or both. The other area where they have increased the penalty are the offences relating to multiple registration as a voter. Whereas currently the penalty is Kshs100,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both, that has been increased to Kshs1 million. The most critical area and this is because our elections have sometimes been marred by violence and so on, is increase in the penalties relating to the use of force or violence during the election period. Under the existing legislation, the penalty is Kshs1million or five years or both, it has now been increased to a fine not exceeding Kshs2 million or imprisonment not exceeding six years or both. There are one or two areas which I did not quite understand. This is where the penalties have been decreased. They must be having a good reason for it so I will not belabour that. Instead, I would want to go by the collective wisdom of the Committee in reducing penalties in that area. Amongst the new offences is in Clause 16. That is a new one. The other two new ones which I really appreciate because we had a lacuna there are offences relating to the use of technology in elections. These are new offences which are fairly comprehensive. If one is caught in any one of the items there, they can be fined an amount not exceeding Kshs10 million or be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 10 years, or both. Many of the things are done through technology and the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Information, Communication and Technology knows that. Most of the offences in Uganda’s elections were on technology. Hi-tech offences are what we are now talking to. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this morning I was listening to a person who got a Doctorate in a cyber-related field. I was amazed by what can be done to hack personal information through The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Bill. Clause 22 has not been highlighted yet it is very important. In Clause 22 the Committee proposed a timeline for the prosecution of these offences to be 12 months. Under Clause 23, it was proposed that there will be special magistrates and special courts, the same way there are special judges to hear election petitions. There will also be timelines so that the persons who commit election offences are prosecuted within the five-year period, so that this is not used against them in the future. More importantly, the punishment that is supposed to act as a deterrent for the next election should be meted as quickly as possible. I am extremely happy with Clause 19; aiding and abetting of offences. For those who have any doubt, this is not the national Government; it is also county governments. Therefore, all those ward administrators, village elders and village administrators who purport, pretend or imagine that they will participate in an election for purposes of entrenching existing public officials, including governors and others, will have a rude shock. They will be liable for a penalty and conviction not exceeding Kshs1 million. I do not want to belabor the point. The Election Offences Bill was there before. I am not sure about the wisdom of removing it from the law in the last general elections, but this is the way to sanitize the elections in Kenya. Under Clause 12, jail awaits the officials from security agencies who pretend and act as polling clerks or presiding officers. I have a feeling that several people are going to serve jail terms under the new Elections Offences Bill. Therefore, the caveat emptor is out for any person who wants to interfere with the election equipment and electronic transmission like it happened in the last general election. Their time is up and their prison uniform is ready. I support.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to request your indulgence and permission to move a short Procedural Motion regarding the election of two of our colleagues, so that they can relieve the Chair. This is because we have a long day and agenda ahead of us. Therefore, with your permission I can move the procedural Motion.

Proceed. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Procedural Motion: THAT pursuant to the Article 107(1) (c) of the Constitution and Stranding Order No.18, the Senate resolves to elect Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. and Sen. Lesuuda to preside over the sitting of the Senate today, Thursday 8th September, 2016. We have a long agenda today, especially Order No. 4, which we are on now and Order No.5; The Election Offences Bill and The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, respectively. The country is waiting for these laws to be in place. The election calendar is already suffering. In fact, I spoke to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the IEBC and they are worried that we might need to act faster, so that they can deliver credible elections, which every person in this country craves for. For that reason, I request colleagues to allow us to elect the two Senators. The Chair may want to walk out for a health break or take a bite; a hamburger or something. The two Senators are able and given the opportunity, they should provide relief to the Chair, so that we do not suspend the business of the House. If at some point a Senator wants to go for lunch, they can do so and come back. I request colleagues to understand the urgency of this matter and allow the two Senators to do what I am requesting in this Motion. Secondly, I plead with colleagues to be brief and to the point, so that we can finish this. It may not be possible for us to sit here throughout until we finish with the two critical agendas; the Second and Third Readings and so forth. We have consulted with my brother, the Senate Minority Leader. We suggest that we should come back at 4.00 p.m. for purposes of voting, because at that time we will need numbers for both the Second Reading and the Third Reading.

Sorry! I know this is unprocedural but I overheard a suggestion – I do not know from where – that 3.00 p.m. is a better time than 4.00 p.m. I am aware that there is a very important event going on in Kasarani Safaricom Stadium. Delegates of some of the parties represented in this House including the Party of the Senate Majority Leader; The National Alliance (TNA), are meeting from 2.00 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. So, we thought that TNA Senators could be given a leeway of about 30 minutes to make their way to the House. Without much ado, I beg to move the Motion on Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. and Sen. Lesuuda. I request Sen. Ong’era, the Deputy Minority Whip, to second this Motion.

Before Sen. Ong’era seconds, I know it is 12.30 p.m. Using Standing Order No.30(2), we can extend the sitting until maybe the debate is over.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to second and support the Motion. It is fairly straight forward. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I support the Motion totally. It is good for the Senate Majority Leader to entrust the Opposition with this situation. He trusts that we can manage these issues while he is in Kasarani Safaricom Stadium. I have stood to appeal to the Senate Majority Leader and the Senate Minority Leader. I felt that they took too long this morning in moving and seconding the Bill respectively. This is because we have already approved the Motion that included these clauses. They should assume that because of the brevity of time, we already know the contents of this Draft Bill. Therefore, there is no necessity for them to go through each clause up to the very end but just give us a general overview of what the Bill is all about, so that we can go on. At least, let us do that. I can see if the same style is used in the next Bill, it will take a very long time to finish the considerations during the Second Reading. Since it takes too long, then the signal to us, Members, is that we should also take as much time as we should on those Bills and yet we only have today to complete the business of this House. So, I appeal to them to be a bit brief in their moving and seconding.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also rise to support this Bill. I will only mention two things. The first has to do with what Sen. Wako referred to and the use of technology raised in this Bill. The Committee on Information and Technology has published the Cyber Security and Protection Bill. It will come to this House soon. It is related to some of the offences that are now contained in this Bill. In the past, technology has been used negatively to rig rather than support. I think that the electoral body must now begin to use technology positively so that we can monitor elections online even as they happen. That is the way to avoid any suspicions on the electoral process. The other issue is that throughout the Bill, the offences are mentioned as whether directly or indirectly. Indirectly is to also do with the use of mobile phones. It is not only physically that you can threaten somebody. You can bribe on M-pesa and use the mobile phone to comment on all the offences that are imagined in this Bill. Therefore, I think it is important for voters and the entire country to understand this. Today, people are committing offences on the mobile phone without knowing or even realising that they are as offensive as if you have spoken to the people individually. On the issues of directly or indirectly, I commend the Committee because we must include mobile phone offences. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Clause 10(2) of this Bill is also an important one. This is because there have been instances where people have gone for 14, 15 and 16 year olds and registered them as voters, even though they are not of voting age. This is happening across the country in some The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to strongly support this Bill. I am proud that I have gone down in history as being one of the 14 Members who enabled the country to come where we are now. Therefore, I use this opportunity to appeal to Senators to pass this Bill without amendments. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the third Clause talks of the offence relating to the register of voters. I would like the new chairperson of the IEBC together with the commissioners that will be lucky to serve to be aware that this is a minefield. Nobody will ever do what we were witnessing. That is having more than one register and incidences where dead voters, underage voters and outright illegal voters are in the register. It is the responsibility of the chairperson to ensure that such people are not in the register. If he walks around and carries a register with those kinds of inclusions, it is an offence for which he is going to be punished. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Clause 5 speaks to the offence relating to voting. Under Clause 5(a) the would be presiding officers are warned that incidences where illiterate voters in the rural areas would go to a presiding officer for assistance and the presiding officer marks for a candidate other than the intention of the illiterate voter or marks in a manner as to spoil the vote for the candidate that the illiterate chose, that presiding officer will bear the responsibility. Clause 5 (b) and (q) warns the voters. We have voters who go to the polling stations pretending that they do not know how to read and write and request to be assisted. This kind of style is the old politics of KANU where the KANU candidates would tell their coordinators that the voters must pretend that they are not able to read and write so that they know that they are voting in proportion with the money they have been given to vote for a specific candidate. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is the time that our people will eat Jubilee money and they will vote in secret. There is no way Jubilee will know that the monies that they gave to our people have counted for nothing.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, congratulations. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for allowing me to contribute to this important Bill. From the onset, may I say I support the Bill but I think there are some amendments that will be necessary to improve on it. I will be glad if, at the Committee Stage, they are included. The Constitution of Kenya provides under Article 38 (2) that every citizen has a right to free, fair and regular elections. I emphasise the word “fair.” Every citizen has a right to elect a person. However, we saw during the last elections and there is also a tendency coming up where voters are being relocated to areas where they are not ordinarily residents for the purposes of voting for candidates of their choice. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, while it is proper that anybody can register anywhere and vote for the President, it is unfair for voters who are not residents in certain area to go to another area where they have no interest at all to participate in elections. In that way, they are overrunning the local residents and imposing a representative who is not a representative of the people. It is unfortunate that this movement of people to areas where they are not supposed to vote has not been criminalised. In the previous Constitution, one would only register where he or she is a resident or where he or she has an interest of some sort. However, under the current legislation, that is not provided. This will cause a lot of tension. Where the residents there are minority and overrun by a group that appears to be bigger and perhaps from a different community, it will cause unnecessary tension and insecurity. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is unfair that this remains so. Looking at the nomination and appointments of commissioners, we have seen under the schedule here that the interests of gender and regional balance have been taken care of. However, the issue of minorities and marginalized communities has not been taken of.

Sen. Ndiema, are you speaking to the election offences. The nomination of commissioners is in the other Bill.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am speaking on the one on the schedule.

It is in the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 37 of 2016).

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, then it will come at the right time. I would also suggest that public participation be engaged on this matter, so that members of the public who may have a second thought are given an opportunity to do so before we vote. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.:) Sen. Karaba, you were on my list but you do not appear now. Sen. Musila, you were also on my list. Sen. Karaba, have you removed your request?

No, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Okay. You have five minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. First of all, I want to congratulate you for making that good ruling and observation. Secondly, I congratulate you for being elected the Temporary Speaker for now. I hope that the rest of the process will be smooth. We are discussing a very important Bill. In other countries, the proceedings on this Bill would have been covered live and people would be commenting as we speak. As we discuss this Bill, election fever is already on and campaigns have started. If one commits some of these electoral offences, he or she should be reprimanded. However, despite talking about these offences, over the years no one has been prosecuted for the same. Therefore, it would be important if people who commit election offences are prosecuted. It should also be clarified when the time for campaigns starts and ends. Nobody should talk about elections before the appropriate time. As I speak, some choppers are flying in some of the counties with aspirants pleading with people for support. Election fever has already started. Can we stop those movements and maneuvers, so that the aspirants are told in no uncertain terms that the campaign period is yet to come? If that was to happen from the Senate, we would be seen like we are discussing matters of importance. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I have heard and read in the newspapers that in some places some people have already been elected through ‘directed’ democracy. In those places, some clans have already nominated and ‘elected’ their people. Will we honor that as elections even when it is not held at the same time as the general election? We should follow the timetable agreed on. Right now there are people who are sure that they will not face any challenge during the election time. We should be candid so that we avoid such utterances and directions from some nomadic pastoralists so that we do not get into problems. This may lead to tribal clashes in some of those areas. This House can contain some of the tribes from engaging in clashes. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in some areas, nominations by political parties are taken as general elections. Some of these cases are notable in Nyanza and sometimes in the Mt. Kenya Region. The moment a person gets nomination in a particular party, they will not face anybody else in the general election. Does this Bill have anything to do with the party elections, so that the party elections in Nyanza, some parts of Rift Valley and Central regions can be seen as final? This situation can be tantamount to cheating, if somebody who has been elected in the party primaries thinks that he or she has been elected in the final elections. We must be careful because we have passed another Bill prohibiting party-hopping. If party-hopping will not be allowed and someone is already disadvantaged in the party primaries, we will have unfair representation, which is not natural suffrage. We should, therefore, interpret this Bill carefully. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, results are supposed to be released within a short time. To avoid any rigging results should be released from the polling stations, so that polling---

Your time is up. Sen. Musila.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wish to start by congratulating you for being elected by the House to preside over this session. Let me add my voice to the views expressed in The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Yes. We are still on The Election Offences Bill.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the issue of public officers’ participation and trying to influence elections has been with us for many years, in fact, as long as this Republic was born. This is one of the offences that have continued to be committed with impunity. These laws are good, but the question people are asking is: Will we implement or prosecute culprits when they commit these offences? We have public officers who are involved in politics. Public officers, under the guidance of governors - not just in Kitui but all over the Republic - are already campaigning. I want to applaud the offence of promising development. As I speak, agents of governors and even public officers within the national level are going round promising development and things that obviously cannot be achieved, particularly in the counties. Therefore, these laws are good and I support them. I want to urge that we should not have laws and expect to have good elections, unless we diligently ensure that we implement and prosecute, particularly, the public officers who are campaigning for individuals and candidates, particularly governors, who are already promising things that are meant to influence voters in the coming elections. I like the bit that says that one can be prosecuted even long after. I want to tell them that this law will be applied. Those who are breaking the law now better read this law when it is passed because they will end up in jails. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support.

I call upon the Mover to reply.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. However, given that we do not have the threshold for a vote, I request, under Standing Order No.54(3), that the Chair defer the putting of the question in the special circumstances for a Special Sitting, not to the following day, but to 4.00 p.m. by which time we hope that the Whips would have helped us to get enough Members to vote.

Your request is granted.

Let us move on to the next order.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.37 of 2016) be read a Second Time. Before I give my moving remarks, I congratulate you for being elected to preside over this Sitting. It is a great honour. This time I am speaking wearing my hat as somebody who The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Senate Majority Leader, I thought you would expound on the word “shall” used for party nominations on the IEBC. I do not think you expounded on it. Instead, you used the word “may.”

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to second this Bill. Once again, I salute the Committee of 14 and its leadership; including Sen. Orengo and Sen. Muthama. I take this opportunity to repeat the appeal to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on the issue of those who have been charged in activities running up to these negotiations. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me start from where you asked a question. Actually, the word “shall” does not obligate the electoral commission to mandatorily conduct nominations but it is upon the request of a party. Once a party requests, it must conduct nominations. So, there are obligated on request but if they are not requested, then there is unlikely that anybody can force them. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I will speak to a few things in this Bill. First is the issue of nominations and the timelines set. I think it gives parties and candidates who have been nominated ample time to try and reconcile themselves with those they have defeated and heal The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): On a point of order. Mr. Speaker, Sir. I understand the challenges the leader the Minority and his coalition are going through for the last few years until now. But I do not think it is in order for the Minority Leader to impute improper motives on one Sen. Bule and Sen. Sonko. The insinuation by the Leader of Minority The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Captured!

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Secondly, the Leader of Minority is imputing improper motives on Sen. Sonko. Is he imputing improper motives on Sen. Mbuvi that he captured a fellow Senator and imprisoned him forcefully in the Chamber? These are grievous allegations. Could the Minority Leader substantiate, otherwise, he should withdraw and apologize to the two Senators and to Tana River and Nairobi counties respectively.

Sen. Bule! Although I cannot see you on my list but proceed.

On a point of order Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is my fellow Senator in order - if I can recall what I have undergone in the hands of CORD or Wiper? In 2013 when the party’s primaries were conduced, I was deleted from the process by the party who believed that Bule cannot make it to Parliament? I was de-whipped and I sought refuge in that small party of which I cannot even recall the leader. So, I am a person who has the power to retain my sit whether as a private candidate or as Bule. So, that issue of party will never deny me---

Sen. Musila, Sen. Bule is on a point of order. Have you finished?

I have not finished, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. So, is the Senator in order to say that Sen. Bule has just crossed over? They threw me out of their window and there is no day that I will be with them again.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I wanted to go on record that this Senator has never been a member of the Wiper party. If he did, I can certify here that Sen. Bule was not elected under the Wiper ticket. Therefore, it is erroneous for him to claim that he was a member of the Wiper party. Is it in order for him to claim that he is our member when in our registers we do not have any name like his?

Point of information!

Sen. Musila does not want to be informed. I have not given you the Floor Sen. Wetangula.

I have been challenged and I will briefly say as follows. The distinguished Senator for Tana River County who is a good friend of mine was elected on Federal Party of Kenya (FPK) ticket, then led by Cyrus Jirongo. Jirongo signed an agreement with CORD and he stood as a Senator for Kakamega on his party ticket, competing with Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale on a CORD arrangement. When we came to the Senate, the first person to commit an act of treachery to CORD was none other than Sen. Bule who turned up in an immaculate white suit; brand new and still branded; literally looking like he was a prisoner of one Sen. Sonko, who was policing him throughout the voting and these Members can remember that. He nearly committed an offence we have just created of a man who knows how to read and write, but pretending that he does not know how to read and write so as to be voted for by another. The law is now getting tighter and my friend Sen. Ali Bule should now be warned because things are now changing for the better. I also want to tell the politicians that they must have fidelity to their parties. The ever hopping and travelling members never end up well in politics. They keep on moving, but sometimes things do not work for them. Sen. Orengo was just reminding me, distinguished Senate Majority Leader, that when you talk of hopping, you should think of that sport called hop, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it is nice seeing you sitting on that Chair; may you continue to sit there. I hope the Senate Majority Leader will continue to have the same confidence. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Bule, we can hear your consultations.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you, for giving me the opportunity to speak on this matter as the Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. First of all, I want to congratulate you. The Senators should know that the Temporary Speaker is The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me again add my voice to the sentiments expressed by my colleagues in respect to the Bill beforehand. That is the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.37 of 2016) which is in front of us. The two pieces of legislation; the one we have just finished Second Reading which is the Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2016) and this one we are discussing now, the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill, are very important because they are dealing with elections laws. The stability of any nation depends on how countries conduct their elections. As we discuss these Bills, we should bear in mind that we are discussing very important matters that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Sen. Musila! What is it, Sen. Ndiema?

On a point of order Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Did you hear the Senator for Kitui County saying that I was a very good officer and we did irregular things during elections?

Sen. Musila, did you say that?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I respect my junior officer and I would not say anything like that because if I did, then I would also be implicating myself. I just said that public officers must keep away from elections. The public officers as per definition do not only include public officers serving under that national Government. It includes public officers serving under county governments. Therefore, we want to ensure that any public officer who participates in campaigns will be punished appropriately at the right time. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, these are very important pieces of legislation and I urge my colleagues to pass them and I also urge that those who are charged with the responsibility of implementing to do so. Otherwise, this will not have any meaning to this country. I beg to support.

I see no requests on my list except – what is your point of order Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki?

Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): On a point of order Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. You need to give us guidance from the chair. Earlier on, we had decided as a matter of policy, two things; one, these are negotiated views. Secondly, this is a Special Sitting. Three, the issue of elections is so urgent. We have to pass these things today. Four, some of us have not gone for lunch including the mover of this Motion. Five, some of the colleagues who were complaining that the Minority Leader is taking too long are the ones talking for hours including The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Sen. Ong’era, you had requested for two minutes and you must be loyal to your request. What is your point of order, Sen. Wetangula?

On a point of order Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Is the Leader of Majority in order to tell us that his level and degree of respect for Sen. Musila is predicated on how long he speaks?

Majority Leader, you should have clarified whether you still respect Sen. Musila. It is for the record.

Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, until 30 minutes ago, I had a lot of respect for the Senator for Kitui County because he is a seasoned politician and a long serving public officer. He had undertaken to me that his speech will be five minutes or less but he ended up speaking for 8 minutes. For that reason, that respect has dissipated completely until he regains it again. Otherwise, on a serious note, you should give us firm directions on how we proceed. Otherwise, we might lose the afternoon and the agenda.

I just wanted to remind you that Sen. Musila still comes from the greater Eastern. Sen. Ong’era, you have two minutes.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute and support the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.37 of 2016). As my neighbour, I would want to first of all congratulate you for the seat that you are currently occupying. From the look of things and from the way you are conducting the proceedings; you are, indeed, a very good Temporary Speaker. I also want to congratulate Sen. Orengo and Sen. Murungi and all Members who were in the bi-partisan Committee of the National Assembly and the Senate for the good work they did. However, I do not support the clause on party hopping because it denies us our democratic right to decide which party we would want to be in. There will be many people and good legislators who will be denied the right of coming to Parliament simply because of the clause on party hopping. This means that only the big parties in this country will have a chance to have supporters and legislators in the House. The small parties will have been denied that chance. I support the Bill, but in future, we need to relook at this clause of gagging legislators by allowing only the big parties to conduct the Business of the House.

I need your protection from the Senate Minority Leader. I also want to support that tallying should be done at the polling station. We know that the experience we had in Bomas where I was one of the presidential agents was a horrifying experience that we would not want to go through. I support the way this Bill has been written in totality, particularly on the electronic transfer of results. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, there seems not to be further interests on this on my list. I am on my feet.

Your name does not appear on my list and I am told you had agreed with your leadership that you will wind up this proceeding as early as possible. I was not notified that your machines were not working. Allow me to make the following communication before we wind up the proceedings.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. On the basis of Standing Order 54(3), I request that you defer the putting of the question to 4.00 p.m. in accordance to earlier consultation.

You moved the Bill so you need to reply.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I beg to reply.

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. That is not right. What the distinguished Senate Majority Leader had done earlier was correct. Even when you reply, you finish and move. That is the correct procedure.

Thank you. Now we have an agreement. I am satisfied as the Chair that the Senate Majority Leader has complied. Under Standing Order No.29, we suspend the Sitting to 4.00 p.m.

Just approach the Chair.

The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Thank you for commencing the Session. However, on a matter of procedure, is my understanding wrong that when the House stood suspended, for you to come on the Chair, you should have come from the Speaker’s Office behind you and that the clerk should have announced your entry into the Chamber from the office? We suspended the session since the Speaker had gone to the office to do many consultations and sign important documents.

Order, Sen. Wetangula and Sen. Murkomen! The point of order was not directed to you although I must agree that that was going to be my response. I really do not know where you get this procedural matter; that you must come from behind some chair. However, that tradition also depends on the facilities.

As far as I am concerned, I am coming from my office. When we had good capacity, the temporary office of the Speaker was available behind, but now it is not.

The most important thing is that I am here, Senator.

Secondly, there was an exit at the back.

Correct. The infrastructure cannot support what you wish to happen. For all intents and purposes, it does not affect our business. The most important thing is to arrive to the seat and here I am. So, we are ready to proceed.

You always know that the Plenary has never been a useful forum for discussing our internal matters. Let us move to Order No.4.

Proceed to Order No.5 THE ELECTION LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL (NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BILL NO.37 OF 2016)

Hon. Senators, the House will now vote on these two Bills.

Order, Members! You need to revisit your Standing Orders. I am curious that Sen. Khaniri and Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale are not interested in that one, except for where the Chair is coming from. I hope it has nothing to do with what we have heard previously of ‘kid brothers.’ You need to remove the card and log in again, just to make sure that it is working. You may now commence voting.

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:- The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:-

Before we go to the next stage, I would like to encourage all the Senators to remain seated until we conclude this business, which is just voting. I do not think it will take long. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Members. I wish to recognize the presence of visiting students and teachers from Kapkores Primary School, Nakuru County. They are seated at the Public Gallery. In our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming visitors to Parliament, I extend a warm welcome to them. On behalf of the Senate, and my own behalf, I wish them a fruitful visit. Thank you.

I am afraid that today I will not allow the usual “escort” of my greetings. I have done it on your behalf and because of time constraints, we will move to the next Order.

Order, Senators. We will handle two Bills only; The Election Offences Bill and The Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill. Since there is already consensus that we are unlikely to have any amendments to these Bills, it should take us a very short time. Let us proceed, starting with The Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2016) THE ELECTION OFFENCES BILL (NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BILL NO.36 OF 2016)

Hon. Senators, we are done with the Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bills No.36 of 2016). We should now proceed to the Division. The Senate Majority Leader, do we have the requisite numbers to proceed with Division?

(Sen. (prof.) Kindiki): Yes, Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

I now direct that the Division Bell be rang for half a minute and then we proceed to the Division on the two Bills.

We will start with the The Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bills No.36 of 2016). Could the Door be closed and the Bars drawn?

We will vote for 30 seconds.

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:-

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the Senate its consideration of The Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2016) and its approval thereof, without amendments.

Hon. Senators, before we proceed, we have the other Bill so that we report at the same time for all of them. Shall we proceed to the next Bill. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:-

Hon. Senators, we will now proceed to report on the two Bills. I call upon the Mover.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the Senate its consideration of The Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.37 of 2016) and its approval thereof, without amendments.

The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

The Chairperson, could you report?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered The Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2016) and its approval thereof without amendments.

Proceed, Mover.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said report. I request the Senate Minority Leader to second.

(Sen. Wetangula) seconded.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that The Election Offences Bill (National Assembly Bill No.36 of 2016) be now read a Third Time. I request the Senate Minority Leader to second.

(Sen. Wetangula) seconded.

Let the Division Bell be rung for 30 seconds.

Could the Bars be drawn and the Door closed?

Please log in and start voting.

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:-

Chairperson, you need to report on the next Bill. THE ELECTION LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL (NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BILL NO.37 OF 2016)

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.37 of 2016) and its approval thereof without amendments.

Mover.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said report. I request the Senate Minority Leader to second.

(Sen. Wetangula) seconded.

Proceed, Mover. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move that the The Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.37 of 2016) be now read a Third Time. I request the Minority Leader to second.

Hon. Senators, the results of the Division are as follows:-

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Since this is the last business for today until next week as directed by the Speaker in the morning, am I in order to say that the rest of the few minutes we could be given a chance to make one or two comments which does not bind anybody to remain in the House? Others can be walking out. This is particularly because of the significance of the Bills that we passed as we had to move fast. I want to remind Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale that there is no party hopping.

Sen. Murkomen, I do not know whether that is the mood of the House. The Speaker had ruled that we deliberate on the two Bills only. If that is the case, do we really need to comment or we adjourn? The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.

Order, Senators. There being no other business on the Order Paper, the Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday, 13th September, 2016, at 10.00 a.m. The House rose at 5.05 p.m. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate.