Members of the Parliamentary Justice and Legal Affairs committee from left: Njoroge Baiya, Isaac Ruto and Mutava Musyimi. Mr Baiya and Mr Ruto plan to censure Speaker Kenneth Marende and his deputy Farah Maalim in Parliament following what they claim is their clandestine role in frustrating the functioning of the committee October 27, 2011. FILE
By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU ashiundu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, October 27 2011 at 16:46
Posted Thursday, October 27 2011 at 16:46
House Speaker Kenneth Marende and his deputy Farah Maalim are up for censure in Parliament following what MPs claim is their clandestine role in frustrating the functioning of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.
The vice-chairman of the committee Njoroge Baiya (Githunguri) and a member Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu), have presented for approval two motions to have the House reprimand the Speaker and his deputy.
The two at the helm of the National Assembly have a duty to preside over the legislative and some administrative functions of the House. Should such a motion succeed, it will raise questions about the validity of their tenures.
On Thursday, the two MPs cancelled their news conference with journalists at the last minute saying that they “didn’t want complications when the two motions come to Parliament”.
“We don’t want to be challenged that we took these matters to the press before bringing them to the House,” said Mr Baiya.
The Speaker’s integrity, one of the lawmakers said, is being questioned because of a perceived “connivance with ODM”, given that he was unwilling to ensure that the committee went on with its duties.
The House Business Committee had in mid September asked ODM and PNU to submit names of their members to the committee. While PNU submitted six names; ODM said the party’s organs had not met to pick the nominees. PNU had picked Mr Baiya, Mutava Musyimi (Gachoka), George Nyamweya (nominated), Amina Abdalla (nominated), Eugene Wamalwa (Saboti) and Abdikadir Mohammed.
ODM’s dilemma is that should a motion to reconstitute the committee be brought to the House, it can be amended to include the rebel MPs, who will not represent the interest of the party.
The Deputy Speaker heads the Liaison Committee, which ought to ensure that all committees are functional.
Mr Baiya was seen in Parliament with a copy of the motions, and he declined to speak about the merits and demerits of the move to censure the Speaker and his deputy. Instead, he said, that it was clear from the actions of the Speaker and his deputy that they were not keen to make the committee functional.
“Let’s wait for the motions to be approved and then let’s debate it on the floor of the House,” Mr Baiya told the Nation.
“They will be approved because they are not illegal. We’re within the Standing Orders.”
Mr Ruto, under whose name Thursday’s news conference had been convened, said it was “an open secret” that the Speaker had already frustrated the functions of the committee and abused his powers in his handling of the controversy regarding the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.
“He has no power to transfer the work of this committee to another. Standing Order number one, gives him the discretion for matters not provided for in the Standing Orders,” said the Chepalungu MP.
He cited Standing Order 200, which requires the leave of the House for a matter to be referred to a committee.
“Except as otherwise expressly provided in these Standing Orders no matter shall be referred to a select committee except on a Motion made after notice given,” reads the Standing Order.
The Chepalungu MP, together with the PNU team in the Justice Committee pushed for the ouster of the former chairman, Mr Ababu Namwamba (Budalang’i). When the controversy raged, Mr Namwamba wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly distancing himself from the committee.
Mr Marende swung the work of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee. The CIOC is set up by the Constitution.
Mr Ruto added: “Is it not abuse of office for the Speaker to transfer such matters to a committee that is not even in the Standing Orders. The work of the CIOC is to oversee the implementation process.”
He added that because ministers sit in the CIOC it will be wrong for the Executive to nominate, vet and even approve nominees to key offices. Currently, there’s a pending list of nine nominees to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. The CIOC has asked the public to present memoranda on the suitability of nominees picked early in the week by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
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