MPs back Senate in power struggle

MPs put up a rare show of solidarity with senators yesterday, tearing into the Judiciary over the High Court orders barring the Senate from summoning governors to appear before it.

The lawmakers accused the Judiciary of abusing the principle of separation of powers with impunity, as they backed the Senate summons to governors for interrogation over expenditure issues in their county governments.

They expressed a resounding support to the Senate, saying it was the guardian of devolution in the country and must be allowed to exercise power over county governments without interference from the Judiciary.

The MPs warned that failure to respect the separation of powers would throw the country into anarchy, accusing the Judiciary of acting superior to the rest.

The debate was put on the floor of the House by Majority Leader Aden Duale, in the afternoon sitting of Parliament, who said it was a matter of national importance. He said every arm of government should be respected within the boundaries of their mandate.

SEPARATION OF POWERS

The Majority Leader called for a national dialogue on separation of powers between the three arms of Government—the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive. “This is a matter of national debate, it needs a national conference on how the three arms of government should work together,” he said.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi allowed members to debate the matter for over two hours and said it would seek a sitting between him and Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro to brainstorm on the way forward. He indicated that any other person from the Judiciary or elsewhere would be welcome to the Speakers’ discussion.

Speaker after speaker accused governors of portraying an attitude of impunity and defiance, even describing them as ‘rogue governors’.

“We support that court orders must be respected, but the matter I am raising is above that,” Mr Duale said. “If we are saying the Senate cannot oversee matters of county governments, then they should just pack and go because then, it means we don’t need them,” he stated.

Though stating that the courts were overstepping their mandate, Suba MP John Mbadi angered his colleagues when he said governors should be treated fairly. “I would be reluctant to condemn governors on the issues raised,” he stated.

The lawmaker argued that it was County Treasury secretaries who should answer to matters of budget and not the governors. “I don’t know why it is so hard for the Senate to summon County Treasuries,” he stated.

Mr Mbadi’s argument that the Auditor-General’s reports cannot always be relied upon to represent the truth was met with disapproval from his colleagues. But he went on amid the heckling saying; “Some of the accusations may not be true, really are we saying they stole that much?”

“I know there are excesses of some governors but we must also be fair to governors to help devolution.”

SUPERIOR ARM

Meru Women Representative Florence Kajuju said governors had refused to submit themselves to the principals of accountability and transparency, and even refused to involve the public in matters of governance.

“There is a problem and the sooner we confront it the better for this country because we at crossroads and this has all been caused by the Judiciary which thinks it is the superior arm.”

Githunguri’s Njoroge Baiya said the Senate’s role was clearly spelt out in the Constitution as to protect devolution. “If the Senate feels the conduct of some county officials is a threat to devolution then it is clearly in order to summon them to answer. And if the Court comes in to stop them then it raises deep seated questions,” he said.