NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 28- A major showdown is looming in the National Assembly Wednesday when MPs are required to vote on amendments to the Political Parties Amendment Bill of 2021.
The MPs were recalled by Speaker Justin Muturi to vote on the controversial amendments largely opposed by MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto who see it as a boost to Opposition chief Raila Odinga who intends to vie for the presidency on an Azimio La Umoja ticket.
Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement party (ODM) has partnered with several parties to form the initiative and the bill, fronted by Majority Leader Amos Kimunya, is largely seen as a rubber stamp to his presidential bid since it seeks to allow parties or coalitions to front a presidential candidate.
Already Deputy President William Ruto has asked MPs to “reject fraudulent laws” on a day legislators allied to him stormed out of a meeting by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), vowing to present their proposed amendments to the House.
The committee led by Kangema MP Muturi Kigano is on Wednesday expected to present a report in the House which will give consolidated amendments as well as recommend whether the amendments of those who stormed out should be struck out in totality for failing to attend the harmonization sitting.
“For those MPs who walked out, we take it as having dropped their amendments. Depending on our recommendations they are entitled to present their amendments before the house and the speaker will be able to see that they had opportunity and they abandoned it,” Kigano said.
Kimunya who is the sponsor of the Bill termed the walk out as a ploy to derail the process of the amendments to the Bill.
“They are members who came here to create chaos and I have sat through the committee and I am of the conclusion that most of members who came were not in good faith, let’s put Kenya first,” said Kimunya.
The Tuesday drama unfolded after the MPs raised concerns over the invitation of political parties’ representatives to the meeting.
Those who walked out include Aden Duale (Garissa Township), Kimani Ichungwa (Kikuyu), Didmus Barasa (Kimilili), Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Alice Wahome (Kandara) who were all expected to present their views.
“We will present our amendments before the house, we will not sanitize the committee process. The standing orders were clear, we were harmonizing our amendments not engaging in public participation,” said Duale.
A section of members of the JLAC committee holds that the MPs who walked out have lost their tenure to present amendments to the Political Parties Act.
Ruaraka MP T.J Kajwang argued that the Speaker of the National Assembly had directed that the amendments should be harmonized by the committee.
“The approval of the amendments of members who walked out was approved by the speaker subject to harmonization by the committee. When we give a report that a member came and left, the speaker may decide to drop the amendment and they will be nowhere in the order paper,” said Kajwang.
Homabay Town MP Peter Kaluma insisted that the standing order 131 which was invoked to allow the harmonization of amendments presented by more than a dozen MPs to the Political Parties Act was meant to expedite the process.
“When a member fails to avail himself for amendments before the committee, that member cannot be given an opportunity before the house that is the practice. These members cannot be heard before the house and we will conclusively tell the speaker,” stated Kaluma.
Leaders opposed to the Bill argue that there was no sufficient public participation undertaken as required by the Constitution.
“The invitation was part of wider scheme to sanitize the public participation that didn’t happen. Only three institutions were invited in the public participation. Even the political parties in the country and other relevant stakeholders were not invited,” said Duale.
The Chair of the JLAC committee however argues that the presence of stakeholders was nothing out of the order of business in committee sitting as guided by the law.
“The argument they have is not driven by national interest. We invited the major stakeholders, and the Speaker was right to invite them for the meeting. Infact it was publicized, and the deliberations of committees are always open to the members of the public,” argued Kigano.