Buck stops with Duale and Nyenze on TJRC report, says Speaker

Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi has defended Parliament against allegations that it was blocking the implementation of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) report.

The report has been pending in the House in-tray for the last one year.

Muturi urged lawmakers who wanted the House to expedite the debate and adoption of the report to lobby their leaders in the House Business Committee to give priority to the TJRC report.

He added that Majority Leader Adan Duale and Minority Leader Francis Nyenze were best-placed to push for the TJRC report to be debated because they sit in the House Business Committee which schedules debate on Motions and Bills in the House.

The report has far-reaching proposals on how the country can sort out the mess in land sector, which has been a source of civil strife for the last 50 years of independent Kenya.

The Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) has stepped up pressure for the ruling Jubilee administration to implement the recommendations in the crucial report as it seeks to right the wrongs on land allocation in Lamu County.

Addressing journalists in his office shortly after meeting South African High Commissioner Ratubatsi Moloi, the Speaker said he had no control over what reports or Bills are debated in the House at any given time.

Meanwhile, Muturi and Moloi refused to be drawn into the push and pull between Kenya and South Africa over visa fees. Muturi said it was a matter for the Executive arms in Nairobi and Pretoria to deal with.