NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 22 – Chaos and confusion rocked the commencement of the debate on the second reading of the Political Parties Amendment Bill 2021 as members engaged in a shouting match for the better part of the opening session on Wednesday.
The high voltage debate pitting Deputy President William Ruto’s allies and those in President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s camp started on the wrong footing with those opposed to the Bill protested the move to rush the amendments.
Tharaka MP George Murugara sparked fury after he alleged that the House Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) which conducted public participation on the Bill failed to conclusively and satisfactorily conduct the exercise.
Murugara is also a member of the committee and a close ally of Deputy President.
“We did not schedule this meeting to discuss this Bill,” he said as he also raised concerns on the unconstitutionality of some of the clauses contained in the Bill.
Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie aggravated the matter when he alleged that the Committee never adopted its report and led his colleagues in chanting demanding that minutes of the meeting be produced before the House.
“This is a House of records and there is no consideration of memos that came in and we cannot say that we have done conclusive public participation on the Bill,” he said.
JLAC Committee Muturi Kigano however dismissed the allegations and revealed to the House that all procedural legal requirements were followed.
“We followed the procedure and the report was adopted by the committee members and in fact member Murugara sent his message of apologies but never registered any issues concerning the report,” he said.
House Deputy Speaker Moses Cheboi who despite the shouting and the confusion stood his ground later ruled that the Committee had compiled and allowed the debate on the Bill to proceed.
House Majority Leader Amos Kimunya who is the sponsor of the Bill, while moving it, urged his colleagues to be sober and not politicize it for their own selfish political gains.
“Let us think that when we are legislating we are doing that for posterity and not for anyone but basically for the bigger good of the people of Kenya,” he said.
House Minority Leader John Mbadi who also supported the Bill noted that it would streamline the division of the political parties fund noting that the Bill offers clarity on how the matter should be handled.
“This members who are shouting lack intellectual capacity and if they have the numbers that they claim to have they should make their arguments soberly,” he said.
Kandara MP Alice Wahome who is opposed to the Bill noted that it was ill timed and accused the state machinery of using high-handed tactics to have it passed.
“It is a shame that when people are dying in the country we have been summoned today to discuss about the formation of coalitions in the country,” she said.
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