Passing self-serving laws demeans Kenya's Parliament

This week’s passage of the “Order of Precedence Bill” marks yet another low for Kenya’s first post-Constitution Parliament. The framers of the Constitution made Parliament, and particularly the National Assembly, the pre-eminent institution in Kenya’s governance process in its triple role of oversight, legislation and representation.

Many Kenyans will agree that on many scores, Parliament’s performance has been underwhelming. At a time when there is serious legislative and other parliamentary business backlog, one would have expected Kenya’s august House to spend its time on more worthy legislation.