President, senators meeting to defuse row aborts

A scheduled meeting between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Senate leadership over claims of interference in the House legislative agenda aborted yesterday.

The Standard on Saturday has reliably learnt that the president’s diary was full and some senators expected to accompany Speaker Ekwee Ethuro and Majority leader Kithure Kindiki to the State House had travelled out of Nairobi.

It is not clear if they were to be from the Jubilee side of the coalition only or even those from the Opposition were to attend.

Some legislators also noted they were “not comfortable” with impromptu meeting and wanted more time to consult. “Unless something serious comes out of this meeting, we are not dropping our decision to move to court. There should be clear separation of powers,” said a senator who declined to be named.

The senators further demanded that their National Assembly counterparts not attend the first meeting, but be part of subsequent ones after they have registered their concerns to the President.

Another senator said the President had convened the meeting to seek truce in settling the matter conclusively following the outburst on the Mining Bill 2014, which if enacted would add on the number of laws passed in contravention of Article 110 (3).

The Senate has been on the war path following frustrations by the National Assembly on the passing of 46 laws without its participation and strings of court injunctions undermining its co-mandate of oversight.

The Senate plans to move to court by Thursday and is scouting for legal experts who will work alongside their legal team. Senators on Thursday resolved to move to court for an advisory on whether the 46 laws are constitutional.

“The senate resolves to immediately seek an advisory from the Supreme Court on the constitutional status of the 46 Acts of Parliament, which have been passed by one House and assented to by the President in contravention of Article 110 (3) of the constitution,” explained Prof Kindiki.

Separately, Deputy President William Ruto asked the Senate and the National Assembly to put their differences aside and serve Kenyans.

Speaking at Osongoroi Secondary school in Trans Mara West Sub-county yesterday, Ruto said the supremacy battles between the two Houses were unnecessary and affect service delivery.

“The Senate and the National Assembly must close ranks for the sake of Kenyans. Kenyans are not interested at their differences but all they need is services which will move the country to the next level of development,” said Ruto. He called on all leaders from the different political divide to unite for the sake of the country. Ruto was accompanied by Narok Governor Samuel Tunai.

— Additional reporting by Charles Ngeno