Parliament merely a strong 'clearing house' for Presidency

President Uhuru Kenyatta signs the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014, at State House, Nairobi. 'The intolerance on display in the processing of the Security Bill will continue in 2015, and the remainder of this electoral term'. PHOTO | PSCU

What you need to know:

  • The summoning of Jubilee MPs on December 10 to State House ahead of the passing of the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014, where Mr Kenyatta reportedly told them to pass the Bill without effecting any amendment, is the most recent.
  • Deputy House Minority Leader and Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo says the President is sending a strong message by summoning legislators to State House.
  • Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale describes the National Assembly as being Mr Kenyatta’s “puppet”, eroding democratic gains.

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale describes the National Assembly as being Mr Kenyatta’s “puppet”, eroding democratic gains.

Recent events have brought forth suggestions that, as currently constituted with a healthy majority of the ruling Jubilee Coalition, the National Assembly is merely a clearing house for the presidency.

One of the most debated aspects of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s style of leadership is whether he respects the line that separates the Executive and the Legislative arms of government.

The summoning of Jubilee MPs on December 10 to State House ahead of the passing of the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014, where Mr Kenyatta reportedly told them to pass the Bill without effecting any amendment, is the most recent.

The Bill, which the President signed on Friday after an acrimonious parliamentary sitting the previous day, has attracted criticism from the Opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) and civil society, even though its proponents say it is the answer to insecurity.   

PRESIDENT'S INTERVENTIONS
There have also been cases when Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has been summoned to State House to discuss parliamentary matters, further calling into question the independence of the legislature.

Deputy House Minority Leader and Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo says the President is sending a strong message by summoning legislators to State House. “The intention of the Constitution is to create checks and balances among the three arms of government.

How do you achieve this when you are called to State House to talk on issues that touch on the supreme document?” Mr Midiwo asked.

Several State House meetings are thought to have influenced laws passed by the National Assembly. These include a meeting in July that discussed amendments to the Value Added Tax law and a June 3 gathering that, among other things, ensured Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi dropped a censure motion against Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru.

Mr Linturi would later tell the Sunday Nation that Mr Kenyatta prevailed on him to let Ms Waiguru off the hook. A move by MPs to summon Cabinet secretaries in October was also shelved after the intervention of the President, who opposed the idea.

THE "PUPPET" HOUSE
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale describes the National Assembly as being Mr Kenyatta’s “puppet”, eroding democratic gains.

“National Assembly has completely divorced itself from the legislative arm of government and become a department in the Office of the President, rubber-stamping everything coming from him.

The Director of the International Centre for Policy and Conflict (ICPC), Mr Ndung’u Wainaina, agrees with Senator Khalwale.

“By the manner they carry out business in the House, Jubilee MPs see themselves as part of the Executive,” he said.

But to Jubilee MPs, there is nothing wrong in Mr Kenyatta meeting them at State House. House Majority Leader Aden Duale denies the assertion that State House micro-manages the Assembly.

“To use the law you are referring to (Security Laws amendments) as an example, House committees consulted all stakeholders when they crafted it —  it was never done by the Presidency like they would want you to believe. They themselves (the Opposition) do not respect the House; they keep abusing its dignity,” he said.

OVERSIGHT ROLE
Mr Duale charges that, save for constant distraction by Cord, the House is equal to the task of playing its oversight role. Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria supports this view.

“The President is the leader of Jubilee and is entitled to meet his troops in a place convenient to him. Because of the many issues he attends to, it is much easier for us to go where he is than for him coming to us,” Mr Kuria says.

Mr Kenyatta’s predecessors, Mwai Kibaki and Daniel arap Moi, preferred meeting MPs allied to them at KICC, or in informal sessions within the parliamentary premises.