The hard road ahead for MPs

By Martin Mutua

Parliament reopens on Tuesday after a three-week break heralding a new chapter in the implementation of the Constitution proclaimed last month.

The agenda of the House is tight, the MPs’ waiting tray full, and the expectations of the country overwhelming.

This is partly because MPs are meeting in the middle of split in the Grand Coalition over the fate of Provincial Administration; International Criminal Court’s investigations; appointments to the new offices created by the new Constitution; and the tenure and mandate of some of the Agenda Four commissions, including the Interim Independent Boundaries Commission.

The members are also expected to deal with friction that may be generated by the replacement of Attorney General Amos Wako, who must leave within six months after the promulgation of the constitution, and Chief Justice Evan Gicheru, who has the option of being vetted afresh.

The House agenda may also include issues related to the upcoming Upper House, made up of Senators, and the increase in the number of constituencies from current 210 to 290 a year before 2012 elections.

But even then, the most pressing assignment awaiting MPs is the execution of its part of the deal to ensure the Constitution is implemented in full within a year — not the five years set out in the Law’s sets of schedules.

Parliament is expected to provide leadership in terms of the implementation of the new document, by ensuring the 49 pieces of legislation to operationalise the new document are enacted within the timelines set in the implementation schedule — or even earlier.

And the House will not just have its leeway to do so, because in the event the members fail to abide by the set timeliness, Kenyans have the constitutional power to supervise their elected leaders, and demand dissolution of the House through the courts, if the MPs stall the process.

The fact that this could be the trickiest and roughest stretch for the MPs is given credence by the fact that they have to bury their ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ past and join hands to pass the 49 Bills required to anchor the new Constitution.

Although ODM recaptured its Starehe Parliamentary seat through Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, it will be entering the House bogged down by internal divisions, and stung by failure to capture Makadara seat following a close by-election that saw the Party of National Unity, which held the seat, come third, and its earlier loss in South Mugirango by-election. To its credit however, PNU, which is also beset by internal schisms, easily won Matuga seat through Trade Minister Ali Chirau Mwakwere.

Narc Kenya Party leader and former Justice Minister Martha Karua, will tomorrow be walking tall in the House as she escorts her new MPs — namely William Kabogo (Juja) and Gidion Mbuvi alias Mike Sonko (Makadara) — to be sworn by the Speaker.

But the more urgent business of the House will be formation of the Parliamentary committee to oversee the implementation of the constitution, known as the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee. The House adjourned before it formed the Committee. One of its main tasks is to coordinate with the Attorney General, the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution and relevant Parliamentary Committees to ensure the timely introduction and passage of necessary laws, and to deal with problems in the implementation of the new laws.

Both PNU and ODM have been haggling over who will take control of the Committee, which will also be responsible for building consensus on Bills to be brought to the House for enactment.

So far, members guaranteed to sit in the committee by virtue of having steered the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution as chairman and deputy respectively, are Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohammed, and his Budalangi counterpart Mr Ababu Namwamba.

The first Bill to be debated is the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution Bill 2010. However, Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo, in a bid to speed up the process, has published three bills that would see the process fast-tracked. But because the CIC is not yet in place, there are accusations the Cabinet have literally put the cart before the horse.

The Bills include one on the pending commission, the Vetting of Judges and Magistrates as well as the Judicial Service Bill, which have received Cabinet approval, and have been published. They are expected to be on the House business list for the first reading tomorrow. According to the new Constitution, the Judicial Service Commission has to be set up by October 27, while all judges who want to continue serving in the judiciary must undergo vetting within one year.

But those to sit on the reconstituted Judicial Service Commission will have to have been vetted. Also to dominate the business of the House is the debate over whether or not ICC should try key perpetrators of the post-election violence.

Though he later denied it, Mutula was recently quoted in a local daily telling Chief Prosecutor Luis-Moreno Ocampo to let Kenya’s judiciary handle post-election violence cases. The remarks elicited debate across the political divide, and it is highly likely members will seek the Government’s official statement on the matter.

However, Lands Minister James Orengo on Sunday said the ICC team of investigators who arrive in the country on Monday will receive maximum government support. Orengo said ICC detectives will be in the country from Monday to Wednesday to probe cases involving Kenyans who sponsored or masterminded post-election violence.

President Kibaki’s PNU is embroiled in supremacy battles following the defeat of former Chief Whip George Thuo in the recent Juja by-election, where he lost to Kabogo. PNU Chairman and Internal Security Minister George Saitoti and the party Secretary Kiraitu Murungi who is also Energy minister are pulling in different directions on the matter.

Saitoti is said to be favouring Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni to take over from Thuo, while Kiraitu seems to favour the current acting chief whip Mr Johnston Muthama.

Already, battle lines have been drawn, with MPs from Central Kenya saying the position should be given to one of their own, following Thuo’s exit. Their argument is that Muthama’s party has in its belt the Leader of Government Business through Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

Eyes will also be on Kalonzo as he steers the Government’s agenda in the House, which is often rocked by party divisions and Cabinet wars.

Fully recovered Prime Minister Raila Odinga will be back in the House after being absent before it went on recess on medical grounds.