Street protests over Integrity Bill

Civil society groups have petitioned Parliament to reject the Leadership and Integrity Bill in its current form.

The National Youth Sector Alliance Executive Director Emmanuel Dennis said Friday the Bill has been weakened and contained "fundamental flaws".

During a demonstration in city streets, the group accused Cabinet of diluting the Bill that will test the integrity of politicians seeking public office.

"They (Cabinet) distorted the original Bill and removed some clauses that are entrenched within chapter six of the constitution basically making the bill an illegality," said Mr Dennis.

The demonstration started at Nairobi’s Uhuru Park with stops at Nation Centre and Parliament buildings.

He also accused Cabinet of “inserting fictitious” clauses into the Bill, which contravened provisions of the Constitution.

Mr Denis claimed it has come to their attention and that of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution, that the Bill approved and published for debate by Parliament was different from the one that reviewed and forwarded to the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice.

Next Tuesday, the Bill will be presented to Parliament and the group called on MPs to reject it.

In their petition to the Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende, they said that just like the vetting of judges and magistrates, politicians should undergo the same scrutiny.

Kaloleni MP Kazungu Kambi received the petition on behalf of Mr Marende.

He told the charged crowd that he would forward the petition to the Speaker and that he supported their position.

“I am one of those saying the Bill should first be rectified before it is passed,” he told the protesters.

Among the provisions deleted from the original Bill is the requirement for political aspirants and state officers to declare their income, assets and liabilities before being elected or appointed to office.

It also required spouses and children of the politicians and state officers to declare their wealth which the public could access on application.

They also took away powers from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to require the National Security Intelligence Services, the National Police Service, the Kenya Revenue Authority, the Higher Education Loans Board and any public body to provide information which may lead to the denial of a compliance certificate.

On Thursday, a lack of quorum cut short the introduction of debate on the Leadership and Integrity Bill.

Only 18 out of 222 MPs were in the House when the Bill was formally introduced for deliberation.

Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa and Deputy Leader of Government Business Amos Kimunya argued that it would not have been practical to require all aspirants for leadership positions to undergo vetting, citing time constraints.