Kenya's Senate vows to fight for its status as the Upper House

The Senate has maintained it will fight for its space as the country’s Upper House, as members began a two-day retreat on transition into the next Parliament.

Leaders of the House – the first Senate after the new dispensation order of Constitution 2010 – also took time to reflect on the challenges and successes they have made, at the same time maintaining that they will fight to ensure the House under the 12th Parliament is not emasculated. The supremacy battles they have had to wage with their National Assembly counterparts, battles with governors over accountability of billions sent to counties and occasional differences with members of constitutional commissions, courts and other independent offices featured as key challenges of the current House, which they maintained must be ironed out before the next House.

Speaker Ekwee Ethuro led the House Leadership, bringing together the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Majority and Minority Leaders and their deputies, Majority and Minority Whips, members of the Senate Business Committee, those in the Speakers Panel, chairmen of committees and their vice chairmen and Parliamentary Service Commissioners from the Senate, in declaring onslaught on those standing on their way.

“We must sort out these bottlenecks that have been holding back the Senate’s operations. The aspirations of Kenyans was for this House to be the country’s Upper House and we must ensure the next Senate assumes its position at that apex,” said Ethuro.

Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura and nominated Senator Agnes Zani said the House must claim its space from the National Assembly on processing of Bills, as they accused members of the Assembly of forwarding crucial Bills touching on counties for assent without the input of the Senate. “If we had not protested over the Anti-doping Bill, it would not have been sent back to this House,” said Kembi.