Muturi defiant as Judiciary, House war rages

As supremacy battles between the three arms of Government get uglier, the National Assembly has now put its foot down. It will not take lectures from any quarter.

Tough talking National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, in an interview with The Standard on Saturday said nobody speaks to Parliament in a compulsive manner- not the Judiciary and not the Executive.
“Nobody tells Parliament how to conduct its affairs and when to do it. This is exclusively the mandate of the Legislature,” Mr Muturi said.

The Legislature and the Judiciary have constantly been entangled in a battle for independence amid allegations certain quarters involving high ranking lawyers, are being used to attack Parliament and the office of the Speaker. 

“When a Speaker makes a ruling, it becomes a precedent. That is what Marende did and I can’t go against it. When he made his ruling, it was largely viewed as ‘Solomonic’, why does it become demonic when I just talk of the same thing. If any Kenyan including Ahmednassir Abdullahi, feels like the laws passed by Parliament are unconstitutional, he can go to court,” said Muturi.

Efforts to get Ahmednassir to comment on the matter were futile as his phone went unanswered and he did not respond to text messages.

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, on the other hand, has since criticised Parliament saying it has been intimidating the Judiciary by ignoring crucial court summons. But Muturi insists that the Powers and Privileges Act, prohibits any person from taking any legislature to court over utterances or actions made in Parliament.

Similarly, MPs have insisted that Parliament is an independent organ that cannot be summoned or directed on what to do.
“The courts should not accuse Parliament of passing unconstitutional bills. There is only one, which was a Senate bill but had undergone all legislative processes including public participation,” National Assembly Leader of Majority Adan Duale says.

Duale who spoke on the floor of the House on Thursday dismissed claims that Muturi referred to court orders as being ‘idiotic’. “The speaker never said that court orders are idiotic. The CJ is the owner of that word,” he said.

Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo, reiterated that the Speaker has not disobeyed any court orders saying nobody should claim that National Assembly is disrespecting the Judiciary.
Keiyo South MP Jackson Kiptanui, says separation of powers is crucial and all the three arms of government should respect the Constitution.

“Each arm of government should follow the Constitution and accept the separation of powers principle enshrined in the Constitution. Once of this principle is respected and each arm of government does their work as per set laws, then there will be no misunderstandings,” Mr Kiptanui told The Standard on Saturday.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, says, “The Judiciary is practising judicial activism and if we are not careful, this country can slide into anarchy.”

“This is a precedent that was set not only by immediate former Speaker Kenneth Marende, but also other speakers like Francis ole Kaparo, and others before him. It is applicable and I cannot deviate from it and in case I do so, it must be for a very good reason.”

Muturi, however, says the courts are at liberty to interpret what Parliament has passed after and not before the Bill is passed, further clarifying that the National Assembly has never flouted court orders from the Judiciary.

“I will continue to uphold and faithfully stick to the rulings by my predecessors. Those introducing arguments that I have flouted any orders have short memory. They should go back on the rulings of other speakers including ruling on the old Constitution,” Muturi added.

The High Court had summoned the National Assembly Speaker over the Media Bill and quashed Parliament’s suspension of JSC members last year.
But the power battles between the two arms of government dates back in 2011, when Kisumu Town West MP John Olago, had inquired whether the doctrines of Sub Judice and injunction apply to proceedings in the committees of the House.

Mr Olago wanted to know if indeed such court rulings prevented such proceedings from being discussed on the floor of the House. This had been prompted by an ongoing case in the High Court questioning the constitutionality of nomination of Judicial and finance officers by former President, Kibaki.

Issued an injunction

The court had issued an injunction stopping Parliament from vetting the officers. According to a document in our possession titled ‘High Court Ruling on Constitutionality of nomination of Judicial/Finance Officers by the President’, Marende noted that, “I have ruled before and reiterate that gagging this house and preventing it from discharging its constitutional mandate requires tangible reasons to be advanced.”

While quoting section 12 of the National Assembly Act, Chapter 6, Marende went on to say, “No civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted against any member for words spoken before or written in a report to the Assembly or a committee or by reason of any matter or thing brought by him therein by petition, bill, resolution, motion or otherwise.
Marende in his address to the House ruled that the Judiciary cannot prevent the National Assembly from undertaking its constitutional functions.

Just like Muturi, Marende noted that, “Neither can the Judiciary compel any action to be undertaken by Parliament. The principle ensures that Parliament as the representatives of the people, is not prevented from giving voice to the will of the people. No one outside Parliament, not the Executive and not the Judiciary tells Parliament in a compulsive manner, what to do or not to do it or how to do it.”

In February, the Head of State told off the Judiciary after the courts stopped the Senate from summoning governors.

Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro, recently vowed to go ahead with the impeachment process of Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana after the courts barred it from discussing the matter.
Apart from summoning National Assembly Speaker, the courts have challenged Senate’s mandate in summoning the governors.