The Speaker who believes his opinions are the law and truth

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.

What you need to know:

  • Six days after the Supreme Court ruled on the tussle between the Senate and the National Assembly over the Division of Revenue Bill, Mr Muturi held that the verdict, seen as key to determining the role of the Senate, would have no implications over the House he runs.
  • Justice George Odunga had issued orders that Parliament should not discuss the petition by Mr Riungu Nicholas Mugambi or present a report to the National Assembly over the matter.
  • The Speaker caused laughter the following day when he said two MPs were kissing in the chambers.
  • On some occasions, the Speakers are confronted with a situation where too many members want to speak on an issue, and have repeatedly indicated that it is not always possible to have all members speak.

To the Senate, the matter of how the two Houses would determine yearly revenue allocation to counties was settled by the Supreme Court a fortnight ago.

But in the mind of National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, the Supreme Court has no right to interfere with matters in the Legislature.

Six days after the Supreme Court ruled on the tussle between the Senate and the National Assembly over the Division of Revenue Bill, Mr Muturi held that the verdict, seen as key to determining the role of the Senate, would have no implications over the House he runs.

“Whatever the court said is their own position as we are going on with the business of making laws and we know what we are supposed to do as we are guided by the Constitution,” the Speaker said.

He would reinforce the statement later that day as MPs debated the report of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee recommending that the President appoints a tribunal to investigate six members of the Judicial Service Commission a petitioner wants removed from office.

Justice George Odunga had issued orders that Parliament should not discuss the petition by Mr Riungu Nicholas Mugambi or present a report to the National Assembly over the matter.

Without an MP asking him for a ruling, the Speaker declared that “it has never happened that somebody in their right minds would take the Parliament of the Republic of Kenya to court.”

With that, Mr Muturi effectively declared that the National Assembly would not listen to anybody else.

His disdain for the Senate was evident last Thursday when Majority Leader Aden Duale informed members of the joint committees on Equal Opportunity and that on Broadcasting that elections for their leaders would be held next Thursday regardless of the possible absence of Senators.

Eight months later, those two committees remain moribund because the two Houses cannot agree.

CONDUCT ELECTIONS

“I hope our colleagues from the counties will also have time from their busy schedule in the counties. The Senate had no sessions the last two days because they were busy in the counties so I hope that next week, they will be in the city and help our colleagues from the National Assembly to conduct their elections for the two joint committees,” Mr Duale said.

The Speaker then chipped in: “Of course people must perform their roles as provided for in the Constitution, including visiting the villages. We need quality pre-primary schools and when, as a country, we can’t debate at the national level, the debate must be informed. I think it’s a worthwhile venture that they are involved in,” he said.

Dr Adams Oloo of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nairobi says that while the Speaker rightly claims the separation of powers makes him right, the more appropriate doctrine here ought to be mutual control and accountability.

“The Speaker has so far, according to me, appeared activist. He sees himself as the leader and defender of Parliament,” he said.

While they have been uncomfortable with the way the Speaker handles them in the chambers, some Cord MPs have elected to complain quietly for fear the Speaker would use his privileges to hit back.

With a direct role in the approval of requests for statements, approval for trips abroad, the paying of per diems for those trips plus his role as chair of the powerful Parliamentary Service Commission, the Speaker is virtually untouchable.

Privately, many MPs admire the manner in which he dealt with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission in the negotiations for increased pay at the start of the current session.

This ended with MPs earning better than their predecessors and the SRC sufficiently subdued. 

The natural thing has been to compare Mr Muturi with Kenneth Marende, his predecessor, and the man he beat at the elections for the position.

“You cannot compare this Speaker to the previous one. Mr Marende used to make very reasonable opinions so that even if you disagreed with a ruling, you’d be persuaded by its logic. This one picks up the law and reads the word without the spirit,” said Dr Oloo.

So concerned has the Executive become about the National Assembly’s stubbornness that the President, through his spokesman, has expressed a need for the Chief Justice to meet the Speaker. 

Some Cord MPs feel he is unfair to them and rarely gives them a chance to contribute to debate. He has also been rather harsh with some, such as Kibra MP Kenneth Okoth, who he told on Wednesday last week: “This is not Kibera. You should not shout across the House.”

KISSING IN CHAMBERS

The Speaker caused laughter the following day when he said two MPs were kissing in the chambers.

The Hansard recorded him saying, “Hon Members, those of you who are kissing – the new Member for Kibwezi East, stop kissing in the House or whatever it is that you are doing with the Member for Kikuyu, who has just walked out. That kind of embrace is uncalled for.”

Those who spoke to the Sunday Nation, however, recoiled when asked to go on record requesting not to be quoted for fear of what retribution may follow them to the House.

“Honestly we are frustrated. I can’t go on like this,” lamented one of the upset MPs.

At some point the aggrieved MPs had considered a motion of no confidence in Mr Muturi after claiming that he had become intolerable. He had also thrown journalists out of the media centre.

There are claims by some members that the Speaker has openly insulted them and told them off “like kids”.

They have also claimed the Speaker openly takes sides on some issues and sometimes appears to be giving a contribution to matters before the House.

On Thursday last week during debate on the Justice and Legal Affairs report of the Judicial Service Commission, several members claimed that they tried in vain to catch the Speaker’s eye throughout the period of debate.

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM

In the past, catching the Speaker’s eye meant standing up immediately a member finished contributing. The Speaker would then pick any of the members standing.

With the introduction of the electronic system, however, members insert their electronic cards and press the relevant buttons to seek the Speaker’s attention. It is the Speaker’s discretion to allow any of the members to contribute.

The Speaker and his Deputy, Dr Joyce Laboso, have previously indicated that it can be difficult handling the numerous requests coming to the chair.

On some occasions, the Speakers are confronted with a situation where too many members want to speak on an issue, and have repeatedly indicated that it is not always possible to have all members speak.

The Speakers indicate that they also find themselves in a tricky situation where they are expected to balance party, regional and gender representation within given time limits.

Just last week, the Speaker threw back at Mbooni MP Kisoi Munyao some papers he had tabled during debate on the Land and Delegated Legislation committees’ joint report on irregular appointments by Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu.

It is on this particular day that Mr Muturi commented: “I can see several members looking at me as if I have committed the biggest sin on earth,” after some members openly displayed their dejection at not getting a chance to speak on the matter.

Some MPs have been heard complaining about suffering ridicule in the Speaker’s office where they had gone with requests for approval of statements or matters they intended to raise on the floor of the House which required the Speaker’s approval.

One MP claimed the Speaker tore into pieces a request he had presented to him in his office for approval and gave him a reprimanding lecture.