House rush sends Nyachae team to court

By David Ochami And Alex Ndegwa

Parliament passed a record six constitutional Bills in about 150 minutes, even as the Charles Nyachae team sped to court to restrain the House from debating two of the laws.

But The Constitution Implementation Commission move was outpaced as the two Bills – The National Government Loans Guarantee Bill, and The Contingencies Fund and County Funds Emergency Bill – were debated on Thursday and sailed through second reading.

The Bills will on Friday go through committee stage for any amendments before Parliament passes them.

In 135 minutes in the Thursday morning session legislators matched the number of constitutional Bills they passed in a year between September last year, and early this month.

President Kibaki was expected to sign the Bills into law last night, including those that were to be passed during the afternoon session.

Critics of the rush argued that Parliament might pass flawed or unconstitutional legislation in the rush to beat the constitutional deadline.

Constitution House Implementation Oversight Committee Chairman Mohamed Abdikadir and Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo reasoned there is no such likelihood because the Bills are a product of extensive consultations.

Mutula argued last week that no law is perfect and that Parliament could amend any flawed legislation after it is enacted.

The MPs passed three more Bills on Wednesday, and they will again resume sitting on Friday, when routinely the House should have adjourned.

The MPs made far-reaching amendments to the Political Parties Bill, removing sections that barred contestants from party hopping.

The deleted section stipulated that one must have been a member of a political party for at least six months to qualify for nomination.

The same caveat is in the Elections Bill that was targeted for removal by MPs because it allegedly interferes with freedom of association.

The MPs also wanted the recall clause in the Elections Bill fortified so that opponents do not abuse it to engineer removal of elected representatives.

Controversy on party discipline resurfaced in the Elections Bill, with a requirement that a political party that nominates a person for election to submit to the electoral commission party membership list at least three months before the nomination.

The original Bill stated that to qualify for nomination as a candidate, one must have been a member of the party for at least three months preceding the nomination.

The Bill also provided that a party should nominate its candidates for an election at least three months before the General Election, in accordance with its constitution and nomination rules.

This requirement, if upheld, inevitably locks out defectors who switch parties after nominations.

The Political Parties Bill as Parliament amended, makes defections easy following the scrapping of a period within which to serve a resignation notice.

With the removal of the requirement that a member of a political party who intends to resign shall give 14-day written notice (the original Bill proposed three months) members are free to hop to other parties at election time even at the last minute.

MPs also amended the Bill to sanction pre-election coalitions. Members of different parties, who lobby for a coalition party, would not be deemed to have resigned from their parent parties. But the sanction is imposed on members for publicly advocating for the formation of another political party.

Speaker Kenneth Marende upheld the two amendments to the Political Parties Bill, which had been disputed by ODM members in Parliament on constitutional grounds.

The House passed the Bill on Tuesday evening, after the final attempt to reverse the amendments was stopped.

On Tuesday the House Business Committee, which directs Parliament’s daily timetable, approved Motions to sit for extra hours on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, to debate Bills that must be passed by the Legislature and signed into law on Friday.

Going by Thursday’s pace and enthusiasm, which included key amendments to the National Police Service Bill, Parliament is likely to meet all its deadlines on Friday afternoon.

"It seems the Tenth Parliament works best when it is under pressure," said temporary Speaker Bonny Khalwale, as the House adjourned to prepare for debate on the Commission on Revenue Allocations, The National Government Loans Guarantee, and The Contingencies Fund and County Funds Emergency Bills, which were introduced for the First Reading without debate.

On Thursday, Parliament passed a procedural Motion to reduce the process of introducing and debating the foregoing – three Bills from the traditional 14 days to a day.

And on Thursday morning, Parliament passed the six Bills after letting through some amendments. Besides the National Police Service Bill that establishes a framework for appointment of the Inspector-General of Police, deputy Inspectors-general, and director of the Criminal Investigations Department, Parliament also passed the Commission on Administration of Justice, Power of Mercy, Environment and Labour Relations Court, Urban Areas and Cities, and The Citizenship and Immigration Bills.

The Commission on Administration of Justice creates a five-person team to deal with public complaints against public servants.

It succeeds the Office of the Ombudsman, which had neutered powers.

The new commission will, however, be required to table its reports to Parliament periodically.

The Power Mercy Bill seeks to establish an authority and mechanism to advise the President on the prerogative of mercy for jailed or condemned prisoners.

The Environment and Land Court Bill seeks to create a tribunal to adjudicate land and environmental disputes.

And The Urban Areas and Cities Bill seeks to establish a criteria for grading cities and urban areas, while the Citizenship and Immigration Bill creates a legal framework for registration of Kenyans and citizenship.