NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 12 – Clerk of Senate Jeremiah Nyegenye has clarified that public hearings on the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill will now be held on Thursday and Friday next week.
In a public notice published in the local dailies, Nyegenye said all public memoranda in support, against or proposing further amendments to the Bill should be emailed to the Senate by next Wednesday.
“The committee will hold public hearings on the Bill on Thursday, January 20, 2022, and Friday, January 21, 2022, from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., on both days. The hearings will be held at the Senate Chamber, Main Parliament Buildings, Nairobi,” he said.
The Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced for first reading on Tuesday and immediately committed to the Senate Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights committee by Speaker Kenneth Lusaka to conduct public participation.
The committee’s Chairman Okongo Omogeni (Nyamira) had stated that they had set aside Tuesday and Wednesday next week as the days when they would be receiving public submissions from members of the public on the contentious Bill which seeks to pave way for the formation of a coalition party.
The Senate is slated to convene another Special Sitting on January 25 to consider the Bill that has become the latest battlefront pitting President Uhuru Kenyatta and Orange Democratic Movement Raila Odinga on one side against Deputy President William Ruto on the other.
The Bill will then proceed to its second reading where members will have the opportunity to debate it.
“We have already set aside two days for the members of the public to appear before my committee after which we shall retreat to sieve through all the submissions made to our committee and then we will make our report,” he said
Omogeni listed the Independent Elections and Boundaries committee (IEBC), Judiciary committee on Elections, Political Parties Liaison committee, Registrar of Political Parties as among key stakeholders invited to make their submissions during the hearings to be held at the Senate Chambers.
Others include the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and International Commission of Jurists-Kenya (ICJ-K) respectively.
The Senate is required to pass the Bill without any amendment to avoid any delays for its implementation as envisioned by its proponents.
Any amendment of the Bill by the Senate will result in the formation of a mediation committee composed of the members from the bicameral House which in turn would pose another dilemma for President Kenyatta and Odinga who are keen to have the Bill passed to clear the way for a coalition political party.
[This story has been edited to reflect the correct dates].
