MPs stage walk-out to protest bid to extend Bill deadline

By Alphonce Shiundu

Nairobi, Kenya: MPs trooped out of the debating chamber Tuesday to deny the frontbench quorum to extend the constitutional deadlines within which to pass two laws to guarantee media freedom and freedom of expression.

The National Assembly degenerated into chaos as soon as Njoroge Baiya of the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) rose to move that the deadline for the Bill be extended by 120 days.

There were 194 MPs in the House, but as Baiya called for their support in shifting the constitutional deadline, MPs allied to the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD), led by John Mbadi (Suba), Peter Kaluma (Homa Bay Town) and Nicolas Gumbo (Rarieda) began walking out.

Their Jubilee counterparts, on realising that even if they stayed in the House they would not be able to raise the two-thirds constitutional threshold needed to approve the motion, followed suit. For the motion to go through, it must be approved by at least 234 MPs.

Lack of quorum

Within 10 minutes, there were only 25 MPs left in the House. In another 10 minutes, the Deputy Speaker, Dr Joyce Laboso, was notified of the lack of quorum. The attempts to call MPs back to the House failed, forcing the House to cut short its sitting at 5.10pm, one hour, 20 minutes early.

Baiya made his appeal; he was seconded by Joyce Emanikor. But they spoke to a virtually empty House.

“We have already consulted with the Attorney General, the Kenya Law Reform Commission and the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution and they have assured us that there’s no legal implication in pushing the deadline,” added Emanikor.

But Suna East MP Junet Mohammed said CORD was out to show the Jubilee coalition that the tyranny of numbers shall not always dominate in the National Assembly.

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