Kenya Senate under siege; or is the House jinxed?

By Jacob Ngetich

NAIROBI, KENYA: Jinxed or not is the question that faces the Senate as it reels under threats of disbandment in the ongoing battle for supremacy with the National Assembly.

A Bill prepared by Kiharu MP Irungu Kang’ata that seeks to disband the Senate, claiming it has very little to do compared to the National Assembly has put the House, which has been in place for only three months, in a precarious position.

The Bill, if passed, will see the Senators serve for only a single term ending in 2017 when the House is dissolved. This will likely wipe away the political careers of some of the 63 members of the House.

The latest is among a series of woes facing the second Senate in the country’s history. MPs have insisted that the Senate serves as the Lower House given its limited roles compared to the National Assembly. Kang’ata also argues that the country is in a financial crisis given the huge wage bill and that Kenyans are not willing to pay more money to sustain public servants.

“The country can save a tidy sum, up to Sh60 billion, if the House is disbanded, and the money channeled to development projects across the country,” says the Kiharu MP. The Senators, who are currently conducting their business from Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), Nairobi, as they await the completion of renovation works on Parliament Old Chambers, have severally decried the poor state of things in their operations and two weeks ago, asked to occupy the entire building.

In a letter to the Government, the Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyegenye asked to be allowed to take over the entire KICC.

Whereas Kang’ata admits that the Senate had the responsibility of checking the county governments’ performance, he observes that the National Assembly would easily execute such a role. If Kang’ata’s Bill goes through, it will not be the first time the Senate has been disbanded. In 1966, the House was dissolved and its members combined with those of the House of Representatives into a unicameral National Assembly.

First salvo

Late last year, former Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni fired the first salvo against the Senate when he published a Bill to do away with the House before it came into force, arguing that it would create an extra burden.

In an interview with The Standard on Sunday, Kioni insisted that the Senate was unnecessary burden to the country and its disbandment would absolutely have not effect on devolution. “Devolution is enshrined in the Constitution and even in the absence of the Senate, the counties will continue to run effectively. Kenyans should not be hoodwinked to compare the 1966 episode to today’s experience.

The country has come along way and we can do without it,” said the former United Democratic Forum (UDF) running mate in the last election. He said his Bill came late into the life of the Tenth Parliament and it could not be passed before the House was dissolved. He noted that

his reasons for the removal of the Senate had come to pass.

“I had argued that it would be expensive to sustain the Senators, their staff and offices,” said Kioni.

Kioni said that the House was created to appease the proponents of parliamentary system who felt aggrieved after losing to the pure presidential system of government.

“Some of those who had lost the battle to pure presidential system asked to have the Senate so as to convince their voters that they had not come out empty handed in their bargains. It is that simple, but we all agreed then that the House was unnecessary, names were even floated like Council of Elders, the Seniors House and the Senate eventually carried the day,” said Kioni.

Jubilee’s Prof Kithure Kindiki said the move was futile and it would not pass in Parliament given that it did not carry any tangible content. “The Bill will not pass in the Parliament; that is a doomed exercise from the word go. Kenyans cherish the devolved system and MPs who are their representatives know that and majority will dismiss it,” said Prof Kindiki. 

Nominated Senator Liz Chelule said the move by Kang’ata was not meant to fight the Senators but a design to kill devolution, which was beginning to pick it its steps.

“The move by the MP is by and large the fight by some of the anti-devolution proponents who are not comfortable. How do you come up with such a Bill when Kenyans are celebrating the life of counties that promise to change their lives,” said Chelule.

However, the former Ndaragwa MP argued that as part of the disbandment process, the public should be involved so that they can understand that it was the Senate and not the devolution that was been removed.

“Since their only unique function is to impeach the President, we should do away with the House. What is needed is clarity for Kenyans so that they do not associate it with the killing of devolution,” said Kioni.

Chelule said the move by Senate to increase the amount of money to go to the counties to Sh258 billion from Sh238 billion and the lobby for all the resources to go through the counties could have irked the National Assembly into action.

Funds to counties

“We are championing for more funds to the counties. We do not see why the national government should not allocate more than 40per cent of the revenue to them, and even more in future because much of the responsibilities are now moving to down to the units,” said Chelule.

She said the responsibility of the Senate was to safeguard devolution and ensure that it was active and working. She added their presence also served as a link between the two governments. Law Society of Kenya Chairman Eric Mutua and the organisations Chief Executive officer Apollo Mboya warned over such a move that it will likely weaken the devolution as envisaged in the constitution. “The good thing is if they pass it, it will have to go through Kenyans to decide,” said Mutua.

Tim Kosgey, a Nairobi lawyer and a political analyst, argued that the Kang’ata Bill would not easily pass given the influence some of the Senators have in their backyards.

“Some of the Senators are influential and can rally some MPs not to vote for the Bill, and therefore it will likely not pass unless there was very strong lobbying,” said Kosgey.