Busy diary soiled by vested interests

By Peter Opiyo and Alex Ndegwa

The second session of the Tenth Parliament has seen the passage of crucial Bills to steer the country forward after a political crisis that almost tore the country apart.

The current Parliament is unique since it is charged with initiating radical institutional reforms after unprecedented post-poll upheavals early last year.

Legal experts argue the august House has done well on this front. It has enacting the four crucial Bills that emanated from the Serena talks chaired by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

The legislations are the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Act 2008 and the National Accord and Reconciliation Act that legislated power sharing between PNU and ODM.

The International Crimes legislation is important to facilitate investigation and prosecution of crimes against humanity while the National Cohesion and Integration Act is instrumental in reconciliation efforts.

But the House has flopped on another front — failing to respond to public mood as evident when members shot down an attempt to tax their hefty allowances.

Head of Programmes at the International Commission of Jurists-Kenya Priscilla Nyokabi faults Parliament’s legislation process.

Public consultations

"Parliament has worked harder than expected, though public consultation was low. Its legislative process is still weak and it is not consistently pro-people," she says.

On a scale of 1-10, she awards it four points. University of Nairobi law lecturer PLO Lumumba says the success in passing the four Bills was due to pressure from the international community.

Lumumba observes that Parliament has done very little to address critical issues that affect Kenyans.

"Apart from the legislations that came due to the post-poll violence, Parliament has been a site of contest for very short term issues. It has failed to address critical issues like shortage of food, runaway unemployment and insecurity," he says.

On a scale of 1-10, Lumumba gives the MPs three points.

And when President Kibaki instructed House Speaker Kenneth Marende to reconvene Parliament on January 20, most MPs agreed that the tasks ahead were important.

Top on the agenda was to pass a Bill to establish a special tribunal to try post-election violence perpetrators. The other was to approve the list of commissioners to sit in the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) as well as the committee of experts on constitutional review.

The verve with which the legislators formed the potent 27-member Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Review, led by Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohamed just before the Christmas break, sent a message of seriousness.

But none of these has been achieved — no local tribunal to try post-election violence instigators or agreement on IIEC members.

The Government was handed a resounding defeat as a wave of opposition headed by Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara killed the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2009 and scuttled efforts to establish a local tribunal.

The opposition was a marriage of convenience — there were those who believed the special court would be manipulated by powerful personalities while others aided suspects in the belief that The Hague would take too long to act. Others were simply settling political scores. Similar intrigues botched the confirmation by Parliament of the nine-member IIEC that was to be chaired by lawyer Cecil Miller. Surprisingly, some PSC members who participated in picking the team disowned the list on the floor of the House.

ODM members reportedly withdrew their support for Miller, alleging he was fronted by PNU.

Parliament has so far passed 18 Bills, a feat Leader of Government Business in Parliament Kalonzo Musyoka rates as commendable.

But more disturbing is that even as the second session comes to an end, six MPs are yet to utter a word in the august House.

According to Hansard records, Gatundu North MP Clement Waibara, Saku’s Hussein Sasura, Khwisero’s Evans Akula, Shinyalu’s Charles Lugano and Mwalimu Mwahima of Likoni are yet to make their maiden speeches.

tremendous contribution

However, some MPs have recorded tremendous contribution. They include Bonny Khalwale (Ikolomani), Ekwee Ethuro (Turkana Central), Elias Mbau (Maragua), Millie Odhiambo (Nominated), John Mbadi (Gwassi), Charles Kilonzo (Yatta), Olago Aluoch (Kisumu Town West), Amina Abdalla (Nominated), Danson Mungatana (Garsen), Gitobu Imanyara (Central Imenti), Njoroge Baiya (Githunguri) and Eugene Wamalwa (Saboti). While Parliament recorded good performance before the Christmas break, its manner of conducting business during the one-month special session after the January 20 recall has cast doubt on MPs role as custodians of citizens’ interests.

University of Nairobi Political Science lecturer Peter Wanyande concurs. He says though Parliament has passed a number of Bills, it has performed below par in conducting its business.

"The MPs have done well in passing legislations that capture the expectation of the people but it is the manner they do the legislation that leaves a lot to be desired," says Prof Wanyande.

For instance, the censure Motion against Agriculture Minister William Ruto portrayed how vested interests override public interest in Parliament. According to Lumumba, "party loyalty and horse-trading have taken centre stage."

With the country abuzz with corruption talk, Parliament should have passed the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Bill 2008.