Hitch over rule that House, Senate heads agree on Bills

Fears are rife that the constitutional requirement that Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro and his National Assembly counterpart Justin Muturi must agree on whether a Bill affects counties or not, could continue haunting the two Houses.

This follows revelations that the Senate has called for a special session on December 30, to discuss the manner in which the contentious Security (Amendment) Law was passed and assented to by President Uhuru Kenyatta to become law.

Senators and MPs have differed many times this year over un-procedural passage of bills and the stage is set for another round of supremacy battles between the two Houses, which could spill into the third year of Parliament.

Article 110 (3) of the Constitution requires that before either House considers a Bill, the two speakers must jointly resolve any question as to whether the Bill concerns counties or not.

Before the Bill sailed through the National Assembly, senators mainly from the opposition, led by Senate Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula, had asked that it be referred to the Senate because security, though a national function, affects counties, too.

FAULTED MPS

Former Attorney General Amos Wako (Busia, ODM) and Dr Boni Khalwale (Kakamega, UDF) faulted the MPs for ignoring the Senate.

Senators usually adopt a bipartisan approach on issues, given that they have a collective role of protecting counties. However, senators from the Jubilee coalition largely remained silent as the Bill was acrimoniously passed by the National Assembly. 

Mr Wako suggested that there must be signatures of the two speakers on all bills as proof that there were joint consultations.

This, he said, would guide the President to be certain that there were mutual consultations before a Bill was passed.

Some legislators, who feel the supremacy war between the two Houses has been going on for long, say it is high time the Senate sought the Supreme Court’s interpretation on the matter.

But MPs have maintained that an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court is just that: advice that can be ignored.

Attorney General Githu Muigai, as the principal legal advisor of the government, came into sharp focus over his role in advising the President about the legality of bills forwarded for assent.

As pioneers of devolution, Senators have had their fair share of blame. For some, the Senate is deadwood – a House that framers of the Constitution could have ignored and saved tax payers’ money.

However, Senators adjourned for the festive season a happy lot. They had graduated from mainly passing motions and were now dealing with a number of Bills.