Citizens have a duty to challenge the things Parliament is imposing on them

Nineteenth Century American thinker David Henry Thoreau has taught us that State institutions will sometimes forget why they exist. It is not just some individuals within those institutions.

The entire body corporate loses all sense of balance and rational focus. The institution becomes a machine without a conscience. Its role is to churn out pure injustice. It degenerates into a decadent instrument of self-serving misrule.

This is where Kenya’s National Assembly has reached. Starting from the Ninth Parliament (2002 – 2007), the National Assembly has lost all capacity for shame. It does not recognise scandal. Nor is it shy to be associated with it.

The Ninth Parliament fashioned the ignoble habit of robbing the public through self-award of obnoxious salaries and allied perquisites. The National Assembly has since deteriorated most steadily. It is the home of infantile tribal arguments and fist fights. Members come together only to conspire against the public on one matter or the other. They quickly resume their tribal stances and puerile arguments.

They have been at it again, this week. They are still seeking to gag the media. The ultimate goal is to take legislative conspiracy to a new high. On Thursday, they passed a Bill that seeks to abolish parliamentary reporting. Never mind that the Constitution is loud and clear on the right of the citizens to know about the activities of the State.

Before publishing parliamentary proceedings, the media must get express permission from the Speaker or the committee chairman. Failing to do this could land you in jail. The more benign punishment is a fine of Sh500,000. Parliament must therefore censor reports of its proceedings. Commentaries such as what you are now reading must also first go to the Speaker for approval. In short, parliamentary accountability is getting abolished.

They have also built into this draconian legislation other mumbo-jumbo, such as “speaking words defamatory of Parliament, its committees, or its proceedings.” There is also something about “publishing false or scandalous libel on Parliament, its committees or proceedings.” But apart from this, they are also legislating against accountability for “anything” that they do as Members of Parliament. This means, for example, that an MP may elect to squander the Constituency Development Fund and get away with it Scott free. It is not that this is not already happening. It is just that it must now be written in the laws.

Then there are laws about paralysing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. The commission will in future not reject the nomination papers of an elections candidate who acts in contravention of the electoral code. This code was put in place to minimise some of the excesses that politicians engage in at this time. We have previously witnessed unparalleled depravity in the name of election campaigns. People have been killed. Others have been raped, some brutalised. Yet nothing has been done against the perpetrators. Now a brazen National Assembly wants this impunity to be inscribed in the laws.

Thoreau has taught us that when State institutions get where Kenya’s National Assembly has reached, citizens have a moral obligation to disobey them. Mind you, I have said nothing about other unconstitutional laws they have made on devolved government, their failure to meet the deadline of enacting laws to fulfill the implementation of the Constitution of Kenya (2010), or their arrogant sidelining of the Senate in legislation that requires participation of the Senate. Nor need we go into their defiance of the Judiciary – and now their conspiracy to make it illegal for the Judiciary to correct the illegal things that they want to do under the guise of independence of institutions and separation of powers.

Regarding permission to publishing their proceedings, political philosopher John Locke taught us long ago that we have their tacit consent to publish. Locke said, first of the individual, that by the very fact that he is walking in some street in some country, he consents to be governed by the laws of that country. Likewise, by the very fact that an individual asks the public to elect him to the National Assembly, he accepts that everything he says or does, as an occupant of that office and even in private, will come under public scrutiny. Reports must be made of his words and deeds. Commentaries must be robustly written about them. If he does not want this to happen, he must vacate that space.

What is the likelihood of these irresponsible laws coming to maturity? I see that President Kenyatta does not have much choice. He must make a rational choice. He must bend to the blackmail of the National Assembly. For, he needs them to push through other laws – some of which may be just as draconian. He is, therefore, most likely going to ascent. This leaves the Judiciary as the only beacon of hope. Yet, have we seen that the Executive is striving to install a compliant Judiciary? Are there efforts to disgracefully remove the Chief Justice? Never mind that Dr Willy Mutunga is closing in to his retirement age. There is cloudy work to be done before then. The biggest impediment, the CJ, must therefore give way as soon as possible.

In 1848, Henry David Thoreau wrote about societies such as ours. The citizens, he said, had a duty to challenge the kind of things the National Assembly is imposing upon them.

Citizens need to prioritise their conscience over the dictates of this machine of injustice called the National Assembly. They must reject these bad laws. The least they could do is to plan to throw out the entire lot at the next poll. And from the look of things, the worst is yet to come. This assembly will preside over its ultimate passage to the dumping ground.