Kenya: In what seems to be a swipe at the Judiciary for declaring the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) unconstitutional, MPs have considered slashing the Judiciary budgetary allocation.
The decision came as the legislators agreed to explore ways of amending the Constitution to accommodate the CDF Act and make it part of the Supreme law so as to continue controlling the Fund.
In an informal sitting (Kamukunji) chaired by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi yesterday, the legislators also passed a resolution to have some Judiciary undertakings taken over by the Executive.
They said construction of the Judiciary buildings, which take much of the funds allocated, should be done through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Public Works. This, they said, is in line with the High Court ruling that declared CDF unconstitutional thus evoking the idea of separation of power.
In a heated sitting, the MPs proposed that in addition to slashing the Judiciary budget, part of the allocations should be channelled through appropriate Government ministries for its development vote.
Multiple sources divulged to The Standard that the MPs, who have strongly protested against the ruling of the High Court, had also as a short-term measure agreed to support the CDF Board to appeal against the ruling, although admittedly, many argued that there was little chance of winning.
“Those of us with legal minds in the House and even the more reasonable members can easily see that we do not have a chance in the appeal. The decision to support the board’s appeal is meant to largely buy time as we pursue the realistic path of Constitution change,” said an MP who attended the Kamukunji.
ASSEMBLE TASK FORCE
The legislators agreed to assemble a task force, composed largely of the lawyers in the House, to identify areas of the Constitution that may require amendments to ensure the administration of CDF is within the law.
The speaker said leaders of both the majority and minority sides and chairmen of the House committees are expected to come up with the membership of the task force, to be presented to MPs during another Kamukunji slated for next week, Tuesday.
“It is this tas force that will guide the process and identify which areas of the Constitution we will target for change,” said another legislator.
The sources said initial indications were that the amendments may not necessarily require a referendum, arguing that the changes could be done in the House.
“But the reasoning of members across the political divide is that even if we will require a referendum, then we will not shy away from it,” he added.
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