Stop assault on institutions that reinforce democracy

Nothing underscores the independence of the three arms of government - the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary - more than the 2010 Constitution. The time and painstaking work that went into writing the new Constitution took into consideration all the weak points that rendered the old document manipulable by an overzealous Executive.

Particularly, it empowers a Legislature and Judiciary that had somehow become extensions of the Executive to exercise their independence, yet still function as a unified whole in the exercise of their complementary roles.

The Constitution does recognise that one arm of the Executive cannot expressly work for another in restricting or withdrawing constitutional rights and freedoms.

Yet despite this, there are those in the Legislative arm of Government who still believe the Legislature is an extension of the Executive.

Their misdirected sentiments are ably amplified in the public pronouncements by, particularly, Jubilee Party leaders of majority in the Senate and National Assembly - Kipchumba Murkomen and Aden Duale respectively.

Since 2013, the Jubilee government, by leaning on the Legislature where it has the majority, has waged a relentless war on the media, non-government organisations, civil rights groups, the office of the Auditor General, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Judiciary.

The attacks are more out of frustration that these institutions do not kowtow to the whims of a few individuals in Government who refuse to play by the rules and would rather intimidate institutions to get their way.

The security of tenure of the Inspector General of Police was removed through the contentious Security (Amendments) Laws 2014 to enable the Executive to have a free hand in deciding who is appointed the IG. The motivation behind this was clearly to have an IG who is beholden to the Executive.

The numerous attempts to muzzle a media that has laid bare some of the excesses of the Executive were only arrested by an independent Judiciary, much to the chagrin of the Executive and the subservient Legislature.

Undoubtedly, corruption is what defines most Government institutions today. The National Ethics and Corruption Survey 2015 conducted by the EACC on the state of corruption highlighted just how deeply the practice is entrenched.

While in 2012 the rate of corruption stood at 67 per cent, it went up to 73 per cent in 2015. Undue interference by the Legislature, some of whose members have been cited in corrupt deals, has ensured a high turnover rate of EACC chairmen to the extent that the commission's bark is worse than its bite.

Mr Duale leads the assault on independent institutions like the Judiciary and the office of the Auditor General, some of whose members are selfishly targeted for censure. In a series of judgements that did not massage the ego of the Executive, Duale threatened to use the Legislature to censure Justice George Odunga.

Senator Murkomen joins him in condemning the Supreme Court for rendering a judgement not favourable to Jubilee Party in the petition challenging the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as President on August 8.

Clearly, these gentlemen don’t know where to draw the line between executing their mandate and fawning over the Executive, which they appear to serve.

The Legislature is the weakest link in our democracy for the simple reason it has abdicated its role as the Executive’s attack dog. A parliament at the beck and call of the Executive is not worth its name.

It is for this reason that Parliament must do what is right by the people of Kenya, who expect it to legislate and get the country out of the quagmire it finds itself in, and moving again. A party in destructive mode, like Jubilee, runs the risk of soon destroying itself.

It is incumbent upon President Uhuru Kenyatta to rein in these MPs who so easily undermine his much sought after legacy.