July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES Tuesday, 1st July, 2014

Order, Senators! I have a Communication to make. It is with great joy and pleasure that I wish to take this opportunity to welcome you, hon. Senators, to the official Senate Chamber, in the Main Parliament Buildings.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Allow me to join you on your communiqué. In the process, I would like to appreciate the role played by the former Clerk, Mr. Gichohi and former Speaker, Hon. Kenneth Marende, because this was a project that started when they were in office. Also allow me to congratulate the former Grand Coalition Government which not only started this project, but also started all the big projects, including the Standard Gauge Railway line. From the time that the Grand

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Order, Senators! This is a fairly straightforward matter. I am sure that you will have plenty of opportunities to interrogate the kind of issues that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale may be interested in. I will only allow comments. I am just advising on how those comments should be delivered.

Sen. Murkomen.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me, again, to congratulate you and my fellow Senators for being patient, despite the “nomadism” that we had to go through; starting from the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) to County Hall and, finally, to our Chamber. The manner in which this House demonstrated maturity and patience basically confirms that this is truly the Upper House. I want to remind my colleagues that even the location of this House, from where we are, the other House is lower there. We are on this side, which is the upper House.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, listening to the distinguished Senator for Elgeyo-Marakwet, I am sure you have no doubt in your mind as to who needs, not just civic education, but education in totality.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

You claim that you are digital. Do not say “on a point of order.” Press the intervention button and the Speaker will see.

Order! Order, Sen. Wetangula! The Chair was trying to protect you, but now you are making yourself more vulnerable.

What is it Sen. Murkomen? Mr. Speaker, Sir, any person who makes assertions in this House must be willing to table what they are saying about others. I have proof of what Sen. Muthama said and I can table it in the House. But in the same manner, Sen. Wetangula should be able to table proof of the assertions that he is trying to insinuate about me. This House must run away from contradictions and hypocrisy, which Sen. Wetangula is well known for. If a person tries to take the puritan route, when we know that his historical--- Let me not say more.

Order, Senators! It is too early to become passionate about things.

Let us continue. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Wetangula) : Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was concluding. What I said earlier, I can say it elsewhere. It is wrong and incorrect for any one of us, including me, to stand out there and say: “The Senate is doing or will do this” as if you are the spokesman of the Senate. You can say: “As a Senator, I will bring a Motion or Bill to the Senate for consideration.” But you cannot go out there and speak as if you control or own the Senate; that the Senate will do what you are saying. This is because none of us, apart from the Speaker’s office, is the spokesperson of this Senate. If we want things to be said about the Senate collectively, we should have a Kamukunji under your chairmanship or your deputy, as you may delegate. Whatever we agree upon, then we release as a communiqué and we can say: “Somebody is speaking for the Senate”.

That is not asking for too much, being unreasonable, taking a moral high ground or being holier than thou. I am simply saying what each of you, given an opportunity, can say. I will never stand out there and purport to speak for the Senate because I have no authority to do so. I can speak for Bungoma County, the CORD coalition or my party. However, for you to arrogate yourself that authority is wrong. We will continue saying this because we see it every other day.

Once again, I congratulate all of us, as a Senate. I want us to conduct ourselves with decorum, civility and to know that when we are on this Floor, what you give us, we will give you in equal measure; that is, you behave well, we behave well. That is what politics is all about.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

I also thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to congratulate you and the entire leadership of the Senate and Parliament as a whole for finally making it possible for Senators to sit in our home, the original chamber of Parliament. I am told that this was the original chamber since those days. Therefore, what has happened is that the Senate has come back home. This event alone speaks volumes, as others have said, in terms of our entrenchment, not only into the bicameral Parliament of this country, but also in terms of what we are supposed to do under the Constitution, to ensure that we make our country better.

Secondly, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all my colleagues from both the Majority and Minority sides, who, for more than one year, have persevered under all manner of ridicule by people who do not understand things. We started off at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) . Many people were making a lot of funny jokes about how the Senate was sitting at the KICC as if it was a parasatatal board. After that, we moved to County Hall. Today we are here. I am very proud to be associated with this Senate because we have conducted ourselves in a manner that has demonstrated to the nation that it is not about where we sit or what people say about us. It is about believing in ourselves and the institution of the Senate and that we owe the country services rather than expecting favours and privileges from the country.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to continue, like other Members who have spoken before have done, to urge for consistent focus. It is easy for us, as a House, to lose focus. So far, we have done well. Let not the little things that crop up over the weekend divide us or make us say or do things that will demean this esteemed institution in the eyes of the people of the Republic of Kenya. It will be very trivial if our job will be to be coming here every afternoon and we are busy exchanging tidbits, exchanging funny jokes and attacking each other. We have done well in the past. We can still do better even as we settle down here. Let us avoid things that will make the Senate be exposed to public odium.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with regard to what my brother Sen. Wetangula has said, allow me to state that, largely, I agree with him, but there is one thing which we need to make it clear. I do not think anybody has gone out there to say: “I speak for the Senate and I am the Senate spokesperson.” The law is clear. When it is the Senate speaking, it is through the Speaker. But we are also politicians. I cannot be gagged if, for example, I say: “I am introducing a Motion.” I have not seen anything in the Standing Orders gagging me from saying that.

The only thing that I know that is expressly prohibited in the Standing Orders is where there is a matter before a committee of this House which is being considered, and then I go out there and start talking on the merits, not about the topic, whether or not that matter should go either way. That is wrong. Where it has happened, we have been able to

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Really, hon. Senators, let us focus on the good things. The Senate Majority Leader had done very well until he was tempted.

Sen. Orengo.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me also join my colleagues and the leaders in the House to congratulate you and the leadership of the House for making it possible for us to be in this new Chamber. I would have seen you in your private chambers, but now that you are now in this new Chamber, I want to apologise to you personally, for the incident that happened in the other Chamber where you had no alternative but to throw me out.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Tuko pamoja!

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also want to add my voice, to thank you and the leaders of the House for working tirelessly for the last few months to get this Chamber ready. Indeed, I agree with what all my colleagues have said, that this Chamber clearly reflects the status of the Senate in terms of its location in parliamentary premises. Clearly this shows that, today, for the first time since the Senate started, we are now able to say that this is part of Parliament. In fact, it is located within Parliament buildings. For avoidance of doubt, for those who might have thought that being located outside on the periphery of Parliament, it is not part of that institution, I think today it shows that we are part of Parliament.

I want to also thank all Members of the Senate. For the past one and a half years or so that we have been existence, Members have generally and largely conducted

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Hon. Senators, let us be brief. Sen. Sijeny.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you very much. I also wish to congratulate the management for making it possible for us to come here, especially for having chosen this day, which happens to be my birthday.

Happy birthday!

Thank you very much. I wish to urge, as I have heard my other colleagues say, that the country looks up to us; that we must debate and think of the future of the country.

Having said that, it would have been more historic if we had moved in here with pomp and glory so that we move in with the nation; and the wananchi know that the Senate has officially been brought here. I wish we would have brought in the Executive; the President himself should have officiated this historic moment.

With all that, I wish to thank all of you.

Are you done, Sen. Sijeny? Yes, Sen. Kagwe!

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also want to join my colleagues of the Senate and the leadership of Parliament as a whole for doing what they were supposed to do a year ago. That is to provide these Senators with a place or a venue that is commensurate with their standing in Society. It is interesting that we are sitting in a very old place, but in a very new manner. I, therefore, think that even as we sit in an old place, it is now time for us to have a new beginning of co-operation between different

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Sen. Muthama.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The Bible says that there is a time for everything. We were in the Tenth Parliament with you in the National Assembly and we vacated that Chamber and came here to allow renovations. We then went back there. But when we were elected, we were sworn in at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) Pavilion and our Chamber was at the KICC. We then had to move to County Hall and now we are here. It is my sincere request to my colleagues here that we come here with issues that will move this country forward.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, because you said that we be brief, I listened to my colleague, Sen. Murkomen, and he had his time to say what he said. I would also have my time, but not in this Chamber. Here, I want to touch on the issues that will move this country forward. But where he got that information that he is holding, that is the same place I would go back to answer him. If he now wants to respond, he can also do it outside because what he said is not true.

I rest my case, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I join my colleagues in congratulating the Senate for finally moving into this Chamber which has been under renovations for almost four years now since the works begun.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to give a lot of commendations to my colleague, Sen. Chris Obure, who was the then Minister for Public Works and myself because I was the Permanent Secretary. We made sure that the consultants, architects and engineers worked 24 hours a day to beat the deadline that was given by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) then to deliver the drawings of the beauty of what you now see here. Although I and Sen. Obure had mentioned that since we may be coming to the Senate, two seats; one for me and another for him, must be distinct in recognition of our work in that Ministry. We want to thank the pool of the experts that we have in Kenya. I want to give a lot of commendations to the experts and professionals in the Ministry of Public Works, led by the Chief Architect, Quantity Surveyor and everybody else who made sure that all the drawings and the work that you now see here was delivered. I also want to add that the contractor is a Kenyan; he is not somebody from outside.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, Sir, although we began our sittings at the KICC, I do not think our debate and our work was of any lesser quality. I think Senators have been measured and they have stood the test of time. I pray that we continue doing the same and working together as a unit and as a House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

I want to conclude this by 3.30 p.m. So, any other subsequent contributors will take only two minutes.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Indeed, I will be very brief. First of all, I want to congratulate the Senate for moving into this new Chamber, which is, indeed, beautiful and magnificent.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to appreciate the work of all the people who were involved in this project. In particular, I want to thank the PSC for making it possible for all this work to be done. I know that they worked very hard to look for the money that enabled this work to be done.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank you in particular, because I know that you have put in a lot of effort to ensure the success of this project. I am also personally privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside the---

Your time is up, Senator!

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for catching my eye. I only have two minutes or less now. First, I would like to thank the Government for the outstanding work it has done in ensuring that we have such a beautiful Chamber. The previous speakers have talked much about what has been done in this particular Chamber. Of course, it has been a long wait. I believe that with the kind of comfort and space that we now have, our contributions will be more fruitful. I believe that we will also engage one another in a way that will benefit our people. I thank the architects because this Chamber is beautiful and I look forward to us having very lively debates here.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you so much.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Mine is just to reiterate what the previous speakers before me have said. We came to this Senate with extra ordinary expectations, particularly those expectations of the Kenyan people. Mine is to simply echo the sentiments by Sen. Kagwe. I came from an institution where I had a budget and the technical staff to help me to deliver. It is ironic that right now, we are given a budget that if you want to really have a technical person, I do not think it can employ more than one person. I remember that just the wage bill of the department I headed was close to Kshs70 million annually. I run a budget of about Kshs200 million in my department. For you to deliver, you need to have effect and capacity. Therefore, I particularly urge those Members who represent this Senate in the PSC to stand firm.

If there are any issues, I think we are part of your soldiers and we are your constituency. If you need our support, we are willing, able and capable to stand by those decisions that you take. But in totality, I think this new Senate means a renewal of what the Senate must achieve for the next two-and-a-half to three years before the next elections. We hope that most of us will sit in this Senate once again after those elections. Otherwise, it will be a tragedy for you to have sat in this Senate for only three years and then walked out of it.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those many remarks, I thank you for that opportunity.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Mine is also to join my colleagues in congratulating all of us and the entire Senate team on moving into this new

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Your time is up! Order, Senators! I can see that the demand is still very high. I will allow another 15 minutes, but we are still subject to the maximum of two minutes per speaker.

Yes, Sen. Khaniri?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank you for the opportunity. I was not going to say something on this particular matter until Sen. Sijeny made her contribution. That is when I realized that we do share a birthday; it is actually my birthday today, too.

Happy birthday!

Order!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am glad we are moving into this magnificent House on this special day for me; the 1st of July.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me join my colleagues in thanking you and the entire leadership of the Senate for the effort that you have put in to ensure that we eventually get into our permanent home. It has been said here by Sen. Orengo that this is a very historical Chamber; so many good things came out of this House in the period just before Independence and soon after Independence. It is the expectations of Kenyans that will continue with the same pace. We have to maintain the standards and ensure that the kind of legislation and debates that we are going to carry out in this House must be commensurate with the work that has been put in this Chamber.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Your time is up! Sen. Kiraitu Murungi.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me also join my colleagues in thanking you and the secretariat and the Rules and Business Committee (RBC) for the effort that they have made in bringing the Senate in its permanent home. I want to request the Clerk to install some letter boxes or pigeon holes in our lounge instead of bringing the letters to the Floor of the House. This is just but one step. The Senate requires a lot of empowerment. If you look at where we come from, the Members of the County Assemblies (MCA) are more empowered than Senators. The Members of the Lower House are more empowered than Senators in their own constituencies. I think it is important for the same people who have been working for us to be empowered here, to mobilize resources to enable Senators to be effective within their counties.

It is difficult for us even to know what interest we are required to protect as the Senate if we cannot call meetings within our counties. There are no resources to enable us to meet as leaders in the counties, so that we can articulate the interests of those counties. Women Representatives have the Uwezo Fund, Members of Parliament have the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) , Nairobi County Assembly Members have the ward development fund, but what do the Senators have? So, it is important that we empower Senators.

Secondly, as elected representatives of the people we should talk to each other---

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I hate to interrupt my senior, but is he really in order to give the Republic the impression that now Senators are lobbying for a CDF or Uwezo like fund for ourselves when we are supposed to lead the whole country in adopting the principle of separation of powers where our role has nothing to do with implementing projects? In fact, we should be the ones leading the country to ensure that CDF and Uwezo Funds are taken to the governors. Is he in order?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think my colleague; the bull fighter, went to fight the bulls without understanding them. I am not asking for a CDF for the Senate, but I am asking that our offices at the county level be empowered. My colleague here has just come from Philippines. Senators there, employ 40 members of staff both in their offices and in the counties. They have to do research and connect with the electorate. If you want to call for a meeting now as the Senator for Wajir, how do you call for that meeting? You need to be facilitated to enable you interact with leaders. That was what we were trying to do through the Bill which did not go through.

Finally, I was saying that let us discuss among ourselves. We are the elected representatives of the people. The sovereignty of the people is vested in us. Let us not go to negotiate with crowds. I would be very happy if we can engage in those negotiations that CORD wants here in the Senate. I would like to engage with Sen. Muthama, Sen.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Bw. Spika, nakupongeza na Maseneta wenzangu kutumia Seneti hii siku ya leo. Tunakumbukua mwaka 1966 kama mwaka mweusi. Kulikuwa na kifo cha Seneti. Seneti hii ilifufuka tena kupitia Katiba mpya ya mwaka jana. Hayo ni mambo ambayo hatungependa yarudiwe tena.

Bw. Spika, baaada ya kusema hivyo, ningependa kusema kwamba Seneti hii iwe ni Bunge inayoendeleza maadili ya utu na kuleta haki kwa wanyonge. Iwe ni Seneti ya kuleta amani, hekima na ushauri kwa viongozi wote hapa nchi.

Bw. Spika, wakati huu siasa si nzuri sana hapa nchini. Sen. Murungi ametaja kidogo tu halafu akaketi. Upepo unavuma hapa na pale. Viongozi wengine wenye ujeuri wanasema haya na wengine wenye kiburi wanasema yale. Hao wawili wataitumbukiza nchi ya Kenya motoni, sisi tukiwaangalia na tukipiga makofi. Itakuwa aibu kubwa sana kama iwapo kutakuwa na Saba Saba na kuwe na mambo mabaya nchini. Nyinyi mnajua msimamo wangu. Ni hekima kwa viongozi kuketi na kuzungumza pamoja. Lakini ni ujeuri kuomba ya kwamba nchi iwe na fujo ili kuwe na mashauriano. Hao viongozi wetu wawili nikitumia Seneti hii siku ya leo, msiingize nchi ya Kenya hatarini au motoni---

Muda wako umeisha, Seneta.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me take this opportunity to congratulate your good self and your team for a job well-done. Let me also take this opportunity to wish the lovely lady, Sen. Sijeny, and Sen. Khaniri a happy birthday and many returns.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, let us not delude ourselves that all is well. If we do not exert our position and take our rightful place as Senators, we are in a very precarious position. The only way we can do that is for both sides of the House to work as one to make sure that the Senate works together, especially in the legislative process. We are having situations today where the President is signing Bills in total disregard to what is happening in the Senate. That cannot and must not be allowed to continue. It can only be stopped if we work in unison.

As I conclude, I would like to say, let us conduct our affairs with decorum and civility as befitting the Senators of the Republic of Kenya.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish, on behalf of the PSC, to acknowledge with a lot of humility the positive comments that have been made by various Senators in connection with the quality work that has been done in this Chamber.

I also want to urge my colleagues to be patient because there are going to be a lot of inconveniences here since we still have a lot of work going on. Across here, we are constructing offices, parking space and also dining and catering facilities. Inevitably,

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to appreciate your office, yourself and all the Members who made sure that we are in our rightful place today. As Senators, our role is to defend the county governments and the people. I want to urge my fellow Senators that we should use this rightful place to ensure that we do our role.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me this opportunity. This is, indeed, a historical place. By our coming here, we can now say that devolution is on course. Gone are the days when some people felt or thought that they could move this country to do away with the Senate or devolution. It is on course.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a very historical place where important landmarks in the history of this country have taken place; starting with the first Independence that we received going to the second Republic where the new Constitution was endorsed. It was endorsed here before it went to the referendum, taking into account the fact that the late Tom Mboya moved Sessional Paper No.10 in this very House. The IPPG negotiations were done in this very House. Those are momentous moments in our country’s history have been resolved here in this House. Therefore, I hope that this will create an inspiration for us, as Senators, to provide the necessary national guidance; to provide the necessary leadership in this country in moments such as this because the country is facing many problems.

I wish, therefore, to inform Members that time has come when we should take seriously our role, particularly in legislation as the other speakers have stated. We really must be involved. I support here what Sen. Moi has stated; no more Bills should be assented to without having a signature of the Speaker of the Senate.

Your time is up, Senator! Sen. Njoroge.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity also to contribute to this. First, I want to congratulate you and the entire Senate for walking into this new Chamber. I will not also forget to thank the PSC for coming up with a disability friendly Chamber which I hope will also be reflected in the allocation of the three offices to suit people with disability next to this Chamber. I am sure we will be allocated offices which suit people with disability. Again, I want to say that since we have come to the right place and we have come from far, it is good that we display some maturity

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Hon. Senators, we have now come to the end of this. We now move on to the next Order.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. If you cannot see my name then I do not know how to get it to your eyes. I have been here for long.

That is true, there must be a problem with your equipment, but you should have done what Sen. Wako did. He came to confirm that having recognized that, there are many other names that wanted to contribute, but because of time considerations, we cannot allow them. So, we will assume you belong to that category for now. We have already done one hour and fifteen minutes on this and yet it is really not our business.

Next Order!

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House today, Tuesday 1st July, 2014.

The Report of the Standing Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation on the Bench-marking visits to New Zealand, Australia and United Arab Emirates on February, 22nd to 4th March, 2014.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give notice of the following Motion. THAT, this House adopts the report of the Standing Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation on the bench-marking visit to New Zealand, Australia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February, 22nd to 4th March, 2014 laid on the Table of the House on Tuesday, 1st July, 2014.

Next Order!

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES ACTIVITIES OF MR. ERICK DEAN PRINCE IN THE COUNTRY

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to give this confidential information on the presence and operations of Mr. Erik D. Prince, an American mogul and former officer of the US Navy. The above statement was issued on 5th June, 2014. However, during the proceedings, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale requested for;

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this response for which I want to thank the hon. Senator speaks volume about the absence of security at our border points. The issue of Mr. Erik Prince was debated about at the Congress of the United States. A resolution was made that he should not do business with the Government of the United States. However, he has sneaked into this country in a very short period; not once, twice, not even three times, but 16 times during which two things turned out. One; that the Government has no idea what the man comes to do here for a few hours then he goes out. Secondly, every time, on diverse occasions, Prince has been using different passports; four of them. If a foreigner can move in and out of the country with

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. This is not in bad faith. We appreciate that this matter is very important. It is important that we seek clarifications. However, is there no limit of time in seeking clarifications? He is talking longer than the person who gave the statement.

Order, Senators! I want to agree completely with Sen. Kiraitu. Sen. Wetangula, you are not making another submission. You are seeking clarifications on four issues. So far, you have sought two and yet there are other submissions.

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Wetangula) : Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thought that the Chair would indulge me in view of the gravity of the matter. You know very well the challenges of security that this country is going through. As a responsible Upper House we have to know---

It is not only the responsibility of the Upper House, but also your responsibility to seek clarification.

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Wetangula) : In seeking further clarification, I want my Chairperson to tell this House whether the Government knows that Erik Dean, a person who is persona non grata in his own country is in Kenya running business in aviation that we know. This information came from his own Government and was published in our media. Can the Government, in fact, interrogate the acquisition of Kijipwa Aviation, terminate it and expel this man from our country because we do not need someone with such a dirty record coming into our country? Mr. Speaker, Sir, my distinguished Chairperson said that he did not have the records because they were taken somewhere else. All of us know that for the last two years, when you go through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you do not fill those forms. We are fully computerized. When you hand in your passport, the data is captured by the computer and stored. If you punch in the name Erik Dean Prince, I am sure that you will see everything about his entry unless he has been entering here and assuming names and aliases and fake passports. In which case, that is the more reason he should not be entertained on Kenyan soil. Finally, we are moving into a new economic enterprise of oil and gas exploration, discovery and production. It makes a whole nonsense of our excitement about oil if the contract of giving protection to oil exploration and drilling firms is given to an American when we have Kenyans who can do this. This does not make too much sense. I want answers to those questions.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I have two issues. When you come in through the airport, with electronic finger printing, it is highly unlikely, with the current system of technology that is being used in airports all over the world, for you to escape if you use different passports. It would be known that you are the same person because of the system. It is important for members here to note that Mr. Prince, today, is

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I want to touch on the substance of the substance. Whereas we appreciate that within our border management systems, the JKIA has an electronic storage, the preceding statements by the Chairperson on behalf of the Minister are extremely scary. I do not know whether that was brutal honesty, inefficiency or the fact that this House cannot be misguided.

You say that you have 30,000 passengers with almost 180,000 forms and that storage is a problem. Part of the storage has been given to the Anti-Narcotics unit, and that there has been physical transfer of documents. That said and done, I did not see the statement make an attempt to address the fact that this logistical crisis is being handled. I want the Chairperson to clarify because this statement is scary for the Kenyan people on whether there are any particular systems that have been put in place to ensure that if a Senator crosses any border in this country, we can retrieve that document in a matter of seconds or in the soonest possible time. I want to know whether there is any work that is going on to ensure that we have an efficient way of managing data entry in our country knowing that security is an important element of the challenges we are facing.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. We have listened to references from the Chairperson. His main reference is to the Immigration Department. I do not think that this is a very light matter. This is a matter that touches on national security. I do not know whether we, as a country, will witness a repeat of the “Artur Brothers” in this kind of a thing. I want the Chairperson to confirm whether other security agencies are in the know of this matter so that tomorrow we do not find ourselves in shock.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. To answer Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, I agree that if there is any lapse in keeping proper records, as far as coming into this country is concerned, that would lead to a lapse in our security. However, the earlier statement which I gave on 5th June, 2014, clearly states that this gentleman came to Nairobi and left immediately to wherever he had come from. The fact that the forms were not traced elaborately explains the statement that I have given just now. It ends by saying that with the border management system in place, the JKIA has had a bias towards electronic storage of data, thus the record history of a passenger is

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Senate should not let the Chairperson get away with the casual comment that he does not know the connection between Mr. Erick Dean Prince and Black Water. A responsible Government like this one should have at least done the easiest thing which is to Google Erick Dean and Black Water. I am saying this because it is security and we know where we are as a country today. Wikipedia tells us that Erick Dean---

Order, Senator! You are on a point of order.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was building it. It is just two lines and then I ask my question. Erick Dean almost murdered the investigator who was pursuing him in Iraq. On that particular handle, it clearly shows that Black Water Company was actually formed by Erich Dean. Is he in order to deliberately refuse to respond to this issue when it is clear that the information is there, only that the Government which might be covering this guy who is connected to China which goes to bed with the Jubilee Government and we have nothing to show for it? Is this the reason they are covering for Erick Dean, a known criminal?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, most of the issues that are being raised were answered in the Statement of 5th June, 2014. In any way, this Wikipedia, he is talking about is not official. It is a gossip handle on the internet. Therefore, the Kenya Government is not responsible for that gossip.

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Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the Chairperson of the Committee in which I also serve for a reasonably elaborate answer on a very sensitive issue. Taking into account that the interventions from the Members of this House and also the answers that the Chairperson has given, I was wondering whether I would be in order to request – with a lot of respect to my Chairperson – that the matter be referred back to the Committee of Foreign Affairs an Defence so that we can again as a Committee look at and interrogate that answer as a Committee because, of course – I am record for saying this very many times – he is doing his best and that is all a Chairperson can do because what else can he do?

If we, as a Committee, are able to sit and interrogate the Statement that has been given by the Cabinet Secretary, then maybe we, as a Committee, could even come up with a report on this issue because it is a very sensitive issue. A lot of us have been reading something about this person. There is also the sensitivity of the issue as we go towards exploration of and the security of oil in our country which we are doing for the very first time in the history of this country. It is an extremely important issue and if my chairperson agrees and if Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale who had raised the issue would agree with me, this is not an issue which we should rest at this moment.

Order, Senators! I am sure the Chairperson is strongly persuaded by your pleadings and given the issues that have been raised, I will direct that the matter is interrogated further by the Committee and you can give us a report in three weeks’ time.

Do you have another Statement?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES INSECURITY ALONG THE WEST POKOT/ TURKANA COUNTY BORDER

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. On behalf of the Muslim Members of the House, we also want to thank you for recognizing this holy month and wishing us Ramadhan Kareem. In fact, yesterday when you called me I was in a Mosque and we were praying.

On Tuesday, 17th June, 2014, Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo requested for a Statement on the security situation along the West Pokot, Turkana border. The Hon. Senator sought to be informed on:-

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Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. I want to thank the Chairperson for the detailed Statement that he has given. He has taken the shortest time as agreed; that he brings the answers today. He is saying in his answers that the contingent of police officers who were at Lorogon in Nakwamuru went to follow those bandits. I agree with him. He has also said that the Government has deployed additional personnel in all security posts along the volatile border. I do not know whether this is true because all the villages that are inhabited by the Pokot pastoralists are not covered by any security personnel at all. There are places like Karon, Kases, Tikaiwa, Sarmach and so on, are not covered.

The two camps he has mentioned are right in the Manyattas of our neighbours; the Turkana who are staying in Lorogon and Nakwamuru. The Chairperson says the Government has now posted a camp at Karon, Kases, Tikaiwa, Sarmach and all those manyattas where the Pokot community resides. He also said that adequate vehicles have been dispatched to that area and I can confirm to you that that information is not true. It is also not correct that a special DO has been posted to Turkwel. The special DO who is supposed to be helping the two communities has no vehicle at all. The Anti-Stock Theft Unit that is found at Lochakula or Akula has only one old lorry. I hope he is saying that new vehicles are being sent to these units. The security personnel in that area should be having the latest vehicles that the Chairperson is talking about.

Lastly, he has said that the capacity of national reservists is being enhanced. I do not know how this is being done because currently, we have less than 10 Kenya Police Reservists (KPRs) in the whole of that belt who are covering these people. Is he saying that new permission has been given and more KPRs have been recruited to man the border?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo for all the issues that he has raised. I am going to ask that the Cabinet Secretary gives us the vehicle registration number that has been sent there. He should also tell us whether security in Karon, Kases, Tikaiwa, Sarmach has been beefed up. I will also find out why the special DO who was sent there and who was expected to go around has no vehicle. I will answer in a week’s time.

Regarding the homeguards, I will also find out whether their number is being increased or whether they are undergoing training to make them more effective than they were before. I will also give an answer to that in a week’s time.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am satisfied with what the Chairperson has said that he will need a week to make clarifications.

Sen. Haji, are you going to issue your further Statement on 8th July?

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Thank you. It is so ordered. Sen. Sijeny!

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, last time before we adjourned, I had answered one Statement as sought by Sen. Murungi and there is a second one which I wish to give.

What did I direct on both Statements?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, you directed that I table the statement today and for the first one, he had requested for time so that he could answer. So, if I give the Statement and he is ready, he can proceed.

Sen. Murungi, how do you want us to proceed with this issue?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I requested that I be furnished with the Statements and then I will interrogate all of them on 8th July, which is Tuesday, next week. So, I will be very happy to receive it today and then I will cross-examine you on Tuesday.

If I remember correctly, if the date was 8th July, 2014 and not today, it was not about being cross-examined on 8th July, 2014. That is not the way I remember it. It is a question of you giving Sen. Murungi a copy of the Statement in good time so that he can look at it and interrogate it and then when you issue it on 8th July, 2014 or whatever date was ordered, he is able to interrogate both Statements. So, to me, it looks that I am not going to allow you to issue a Statement now unless it is interrogated on a future date. I remember you handed a copy to him, but apparently, he understood that his intervention was going to be on 8th July, 2014 and not today. That Statement is put aside until 8th July, 2014.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand guided. If the Chair rules so, it is okay with me.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to issue a Statement regarding accreditation of the Technical University of Mombasa by the Engineering Board of Kenya.

I want to confirm whether Sen. Muriuki is here.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, he is already here. I had talked to him.

I had not seen him. You can go on.

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Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, first of all, let me thank the Chairperson for making the effort to get an answer.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, secondly, allow me to clarify that I was not in the House when the answer first came because I was out of the country. Actually, I was part of the Kenyan delegation which went to attend the African Union meeting in Equatorial Guinea. Also, allow me to report that Kenya has a very high standing in the African Union. It is, therefore, very disappointing to hear this kind of answer from our own Government. It would look like the Government is not taking this matter seriously.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Statement that I sought had four parts. Part (a) was whether the Government is aware of this predicament. To that extent I think that the Government should get an A because it is aware. Part (b) was asking what the Government is doing to assist or help those students who find themselves in this predicament. The specific predicament is students graduating with a degree which is not recognized by the professional body of the profession for which they have been learning for the last so many years. That has not been treated seriously. I do not know what the Chairperson will do, so that a more appropriate answer is brought. They have not even said what, therefore, will happen to those students whose graduation happened last week.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, part (c) of my request for the Statement was: - “How many other students are in this kind of situation, whether in the Engineering, Law or whatever other profession, in the various other universities, be they public or private?” The last part of my question was asking what the Government - more so the CUE - is doing to ensure that only accredited courses are being taken by various universities.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, to that extent, I would request that this Statement be deferred, so that parts (c) and (d) of my request can be answered. After answering parts

Are there some more interventions?

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Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am a Member of this Committee and also a former administrator in the university. I want to agree with Sen. Karue that the answer that we actually got for the question that was asked is inadequate. In fact, the questions were very clear. The university itself is accredited, but the programme is not accredited. This is one of the things that need to be answered. I am aware, being a university lecturer, that courses are not accredited if the teaching staff in that programme is not of the calibre that is required and accepted by the professional body. This question has not been answered by all the correspondences that we have.

Therefore, I think that we need to go back and, probably, get a proper answer as to why a professional body should not register a programme in an accredited university which is recognized. What is required is a very simple thing; that all the administrators of this university should give a straight answer as to why this programme has not been accredited and yet, it is a conditional requirement that this should be done well before the students have actually undertaken the course. I do know that it is---

Sen. (Prof.) Lesan, are you making a Statement or seeking a clarification?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, being a Member of the Committee, I am just trying to---

Sen. (Prof.) Lesan, You are supposed to seek a clarification. Could I pose a question to you? Please, resume your seat. I am also posing this question to all Senators. You are a Member of that Committee; two things, therefore, must have happened. One of them is that, that statement was not interrogated after it came from the Ministry to the Committee. If it had been interrogated, we expect that the issues that you are raising, you would have raised them at the Committee level and then told your Chairperson that this statement is not adequate to answer what Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki had asked and, therefore, you should not read it on the Floor. You should have told him to wait and defer it until we get a proper answer. But now when I see Members of the same Committee rise and say that they are not satisfied with the answer, it tells me that the Statement was not interrogated at the Committee Stage.

In my opinion, that is what should happen in the first instance; that Members of the Committee see the Statement, if possible, and even agree on whether it is adequate or not. But now when you interrogate your own Chairperson, Sen. (Prof.) Lesan, then, of course, it gives us an impression that, that Statement was not discussed by the Committee. I am not taking it against you; I am just pointing out because I am appreciating what I have seen in the Statement. I am just saying that in future, it will be very healthy, and particularly for a person like you who is an administrator in education, as you have put it, to help us come up with proper answers on the Floor of the House.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I am sure when I made the Statements that I have made; it really goes to show the frustrations that we, as a Committee, including my Chairperson, have had to go through, having a lot of

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But your Chairperson has not sought for time! But I get you, Sen. (Prof.) Lesan.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. That is the only thing we are really supporting each other as the Committee; to try and answer these serious questions.

Sen. Karaba. Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Thank you very much, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the time given. We have struggled and we are going to struggle with this answer because I am also very close to this system. There is a Motion coming here – and I hope that everybody will pass it – it is like every other college wants to be called a university---

Sen. Karaba, the issue for me is very simple; it is this; you are the Chairperson of the Committee. If you are not satisfied with the answer, you should not bring it to the Floor of the House.

Okay.

If you are satisfied, then stand by your statement. But if you are not, then you concede that your statement is not satisfactory; ask for more time and if Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki agrees to more time, then you can proceed and give us a better and stronger statement that satisfies us as a House.

It is agreed. We agree that we can ask for more time, Senator, so that we can bring in a more elaborate answer to this august Senate.

Sen. (Eng.) Karue?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is very appropriate. Let us talk about how much time you need; is it one week? These are straight forward things; we are only asking about what the Government has done; it is not something they are going to do. So, it should be there in their books.

Sen. Karaba, if you are able to give an answer in one week’s time, my suggestion to you is that you take the matter back to the Committee; if need be, invite Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki to the Committee and thrash out the issues so that then you can come out with an answer that is acceptable.

Thank you. So, is that going to be 8th or 9th of July, 2014? It appears to me that the urgency with which Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki had when he sought this statement is now no

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Thank you. It is so ordered. It shall be given on Wednesday, 9th July, 2014. Thank you. There being no further statement, let us move on to the next order; Sen. Amos Wako’s Bill.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as you can see, there is no threshold to have a vote on this particular Bill. Normally, we have said that voting should take place on Wednesdays---

No; nobody has said that. If you have an application to make, Sen. Wako, you make an application but do not bring forth things that are not in the records of the House.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am seeking adjournment under Standing Order No.54 (3) ; that we defer putting of the Question to the following day in view of the fact that we do not have the threshold at this point in time.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this has happened quite a number of times in view of the unique nature of voting in the Senate. Somehow, I would plead that there is normally a time at the very beginning before these statements are made when there is actually a very big quorum in the House. Like today, had we taken the vote before we came to the statements, we would have had a quorum; it would have been an overwhelming quorum. But once the statements began, people began walking out and so on, and so forth. That is point number one.

Secondly, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, although this Bill has been put for voting today, I do not think the Whips have done their job to whip people to come and vote. I, for one, did not receive any message from my whip saying “please, note that you are going to vote on this day on this Bill in the House.” I normally do receive such notices, but this time round, I did not receive any notice. Which means---

What is your point, Sen. Wako?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my point is that the Whips should also do their job, especially when they know that on the Order Paper---

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What? have done their job regarding your vote. So, what are you proposing we do?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am proposing that the Speaker comes down on them---

You know that, for me, is futuristic. You have a division; your Bill is coming up for a division.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for now what I am asking for under this Standing Order which I have just quoted is that we defer putting the Question to tomorrow.

Yeah; you have taken a very long time to say the same thing. You have gone in a roundabout manner.

Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki, what do you have to say on this issue?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to add to what Sen. Wako is saying, although maybe he was not so clear. It is obvious it would not be so clever of the House to start doing a division when we obviously do not have the prerequisite quorum. So, my suggestion would be that the Chair should take up this matter with a view to actually designating a day. At one time, I think we had said it should be done on Wednesday, but I think it was not official. Because when we say we should move it to the second day, I think it may not be good enough. Because we are here to achieve something, it will be good if we can agree on a permanent situation that we all know will work; say, on a Wednesday afternoon, the first business is division after the procedural matters. This will even enable the Whips to know what and when they are whipping. Otherwise, the division is coming on a day, on and off, where the Whips may not be aware that there is need to do that kind of whipping. That will be my suggestion.

Sen. Karaba?

Sen. Karaba, you know you must make a request. I know the system is new and you have to use your card wherever you move to.

If it is not working, you can move to the Dispatch Box.

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Thank you very much, Sen. Karaba, but let me make this observation: Voting is an important business of this House just as the other Orders. So, it is not a question of coaxing Members to vote by bringing it forward. It is a question of Members knowing that we have an important Motion or Bill and we are voting on it on a particular day but we cannot relegate the business of the House or redo the Order Paper as traditionally done to accommodate a situation which is not more important than all the other issues that we have to do in the House. The reason why we have an Order Paper is because every Order of the House is important.

So, obviously, I understand where you are coming from, and I am going to proceed on the petition by Sen. Wako on Standing Order No.54 (3) and defer it to the next day but this next day cannot be indefinite. Tomorrow will come, again, there will be no quorum or threshold and somebody will talk about the following day. It cannot continue like that because you must also realize that being absent is also another way of voting. It is a negative vote because by not being here, you are voting against a Bill or a Motion. So, we cannot assume that people are not here because they do not know. It is maybe because they do not want to vote in a particular manner.

Having said that, I would agree with Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki Karue that traditionally what we have done was to vote on a specific day, say, on Wednesday, where everybody knows it is a voting day and they can come and vote to a Motion or a Bill. Also, this is not by way of entitlement but the whips also at all occasions should be aware that a Motion or a Bill is coming up for division and it is up to them to ensure that there is a threshold in the House.

Sen. Wako, your Bill will be voted upon tomorrow, Wednesday, 2nd July, 2014 after 2.30 p.m. Is that okay?

I entirely agree with that but is it also possible for the message to be conveyed to the whips?

Sen. Wako, you are out of order. It is not the work of the Speaker to convey a message on any Bill or any Order of the day to the whips. So, the vote is tomorrow and it shall be provided for in the Order Paper. You cannot ask the Speaker to whip on any issue. We have whips in the House.

Sen. (Prof.) Lesan, did you have an intervention to make?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are recognizing that this is a perennial problem and I am just wondering what would happen tomorrow if the number of Members in the House still does not meet the threshold. Are we going to continually seek for more time?

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On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to join my colleagues who are concerned with the way the two whips of the two sides have been--- I do not know whether they get the Order Paper in good time. What is the way forward? How do we deal with such people who abscond their duty?

Sen. (Prof.) Lonyangapuo, if you look at Standing Order No.54 (3) , it says that the Speaker may, on the request of a Senator, defer the putting of the question. We have not put the question on this issue. We will defer the putting of the question to the following day, in which case the Speaker shall thereupon nominate a time at which the question shall be put. Are we together? It says “to the following day” which is tomorrow. Then tomorrow, Thursday, will be the following day and if there is no threshold, then we can still use the same thing. For how long it can go, that is where a ruling needs to be made by the Speaker so that it cannot be in perpetuity. There must come a moment at which a vote must be taken, regardless.

Sen. G.G. Kariuki, your card is not in but I can see you. You can come to the Dispatch Box if your card is not working.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I regret that we are really spending a lot of time asking you to do impossible things as far as the Speaker is concerned. The Speaker cannot be the whip for CORD or Jubilee. The Speaker is supposed to be independent. We anticipated this problem the time we came here. If you ask a very honest question; who owns this programme? Is it CORD or Jubilee? If we know that it is coming from a certain political party, then we expect the Chief Whip of that political party to whip their Members and also campaign on this side to support them or not. The way things are, we are pretending that we are not from different parties, thus we are committing a political crime. We need to be honest to ourselves that when a Bill is here, it is emanating from either Jubilee or CORD. We should then deal with that matter that way. That does not mean we cannot compromise knowing very well that we are supporting the Bill presented by Sen. Wako who is not from Jubilee but the Bill might be for the national interest. So, there is no reason why I would not support it. We are trying to contain this problem.

Mr. G. G. Kariuki, at the end of it all, this matter has to go before the Rules and Business Committee. It is contemplated that a vote can be outstanding for as long as possible. It must come to an end like litigation. This is an issue that will finally have to go before the Rules and Business Committee. It will not just be about quorum because we have quorum but about the threshold for voting. When will voting take place, in what format and how many times can we have a certain Bill being deferred to the following day? That is an important issue. I see that Sen.

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On a point of information Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I want to inform Sen. G. G. Kariuki that this has nothing to do with CORD or Jubilee. This is a Bill that emanated from the Committee. It is constituted and represented by both parties. Having said that, we have in the past shown a lot of maturity in contributing to Bills in the Senate devoid of party affiliations and regional balancing. When we feel that a Bill is okay and good for the welfare of this nation, we have supported it, whether it originated from somebody who subscribes to the Jubilee Coalition or the CORD Coalition.

Sen. G. G. Kariuki made that remark. The Bill is in front of us and it is a Committee Bill. Sen. G. G. Kariuki’s view was towards the whips and when they should whip so that we have Members in the House.

Having said that, we have exhausted that order, let us move to the next order. Second Reading

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to move that the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, Senate Bill No.3 of 2014 be read a second time. I want to start by thanking you for giving me the opportunity. I thank the Office of the Clerk for the support it has given towards this Bill. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in this Senate for the outstanding work they have done in conducting public hearings.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this amendment is in respect of Section 25 of the Political Parties Act No.11 of 2011 which reads as follows:

The fund for political parties, distribution will be as follows -

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On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. We like what the contributor is saying, but is it in order for him to mislead Kenyans that he is not a Member of our coalition when, indeed, his UDF party is a member of the Jubilee Coalition? Could he clarify this position before the cameras?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I take that point of order very seriously. It reminds me that once upon a time, soon after the General Election last year, my party leader was so much in love with Jubilee that they went to bed and in the process, a wonderful---

Sen. Khalwale, before you go into the theatrics about what I know you want now to start, the issue raised by Sen. Kiraitu is pretty easy. You are leading in a very important Bill in this House on political parties and he raised an issue with you on a point of order. I think that he deserves an answer. The House, rather, deserves to hear what you have to say about that point of order.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, indeed, I am going to answer directly. After they went into that union, they created the union that asked me, as UDF on the Floor of this House, to work with Jubilee, which I did gladly. But, unfortunately, as the House will recall, a Motion was brought in this House, debate done, question put and a vote determined that I be thrown out of the Jubilee Coalition. That is how I found myself with no option other than not sitting here in the middle, but working with the CORD Coalition which, fortunately, I have found to be likeminded.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if I may clarify, because I am a disciplined Member of my party, I still subscribe to UDF and pay all the monies that we are supposed to pay the party, because I thank it for sponsoring me. But having been de-whipped, there was no

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On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. He has not answered by point of order. He has just avoided it. It is true that you were removed from a Committee, but you were not removed from your Coalition, because your party is still a member of the Coalition. So, you being a Member of UDF, and since UDF is a member of the Jubilee Coalition by implication--- You could be a rebel, but you are a Member of the Jubilee Coalition.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am aware that you are a senior Member of the Bar and so is Sen. Kiraitu. You know that the Political Parties Act---

Sen. Kiraitu Murungi and Sen. Khalwale, the one thing that I am not going to allow is for both of you to get into a debate on this issue. But I got Sen. Kiraitu Murungi to raise a direct question with you, on a way of point of order. That is what he is asking. If you are able to answer him, it is fine. But if you are not able to answer, just say so, and then we proceed. But he raised a very direct point of order with you and I reckon that the House wants to know your response. But I do not want us to go into a debate on this issue.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Political Parties Act does not in any way bind any Member to a post-election agreement that is negotiated and the Member is not satisfied. So, I am not bound by law.

Then I think that we should just leave it at that.

Sen. Lonyangapuo, do you have a point of order?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg that my time is not---

I will hold your time, Sen. Khalwale.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleague has sought the clarification that I wanted to seek.

Proceed, Sen. Khalwale.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, where are we with all this reality? Where we are is that parties that contributed to making the President of this country are today relying on the membership of the party to support their party financially. At UDF, we contribute Kshs20,000 per month. I know that KANU, the “Bus” party and everybody else must be contributing. Why should we be denied access to public funds? Why should we rely on the salary that is supposed to enable us to discharge our duties, as Senators, Members of Parliament and Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) , when there is money from the national kitty?

I beg that this realization be the one that will persuade my colleagues in supporting this amendment. This is because if you refuse to support it, it simply means

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Madam Temporary Speaker, thank you for giving me this opportunity to second this Bill which has been extensively and in detail moved by my colleague, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. In a multiparty democracy there are tenets which must be embraced; the tenets of equity, transparency and good governance. These are the reasons which can be captured if all our Members support this Bill with amendments.

Devolution as it is means sending and enabling all corners of the country. We have county assemblies where diverse political parties are represented. It would be very noble that those who have majority numbers in the assemblies have their share and those with minority have their say even if it is one Member. That is the essence of democracy.

Madam Temporary Speaker, since 1992, Kenya was earmarked to be a multiparty democracy but the Act as it is, is for a few. As you have heard from my colleague, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, in the CORD Coalition for instance, some of us in the FORD- (K) party are still fighting to get even a little of what is at disposal in the coalition. We need to make this a matter of law. This needs to be a matter of equity. If you look at and compare with other jurisdictions, political funding should enable parties to be functional. For instance, whether a party is represented by one Member at the Senate, National Assembly or County Assembly, it should be facilitated from the Consolidated Fund. These funds come from taxpayers who, in their wisdom, have empowered those people to represent them in the county assemblies whether in the majority or minority. So, if the funds are equitably distributed, it will assist those Members to do the following:-

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Madam Temporary Speaker, I want to laud Sen. (Dr.) Boni Khalwale for introducing this amendment on the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2014, which touches on the rights of the people of Kenya as exercised in the parties they have chosen during elections.

We pass many laws and it is important that we start implementing them. Sometimes we may pass very many laws that may appear very brilliant from the outset, but in real practice, this does not work very well. The proposal that the Senator made that we delete the words “at least five per cent of the total number of votes cast” are the parties that will benefit and yet we know we had over 50 political parties that participated in the last General Election. We have many parties serving Kenyans at the two levels of governance; at the County Assemblies and national Government, both in the Senate and the National Assembly.

I support the amendment that says that at least one single member constituency sits in the Parliament or in the county assembly. This gives us the freedom as exercised in our Constitution. The sovereign power of the people is exercised at two levels of Government; the national and the county level. This is under Article 1 (4) of our Constitution. If we went by the law that existed before this amendment, it would cut out many people who have been elected by the people of Kenya at the county level whose parties are not recognized. This cuts off some people who are found at the national level such as me who are in the oldest party, KANU, which has given birth to all the other parties. It is a shame that if we were to proceed the way the law says, then we would not get any support. This party made the leaders who are in the new parties.

As we move on as it is indicated, every political party will have access to funds that are raised by Kenyan taxpayers. I support the ratios as indicated. Every political party; whichever numbers it has, gets a uniform figure. This is already being practiced in the way that the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) distributes money to counties. There is a column which is constant for every county. Funding is supposed to stabilize that and there is something called equal share in the formula. Every county must get a certain flat rate. If this is indicated and approved, every political party should get a flat figure of 25 per cent of the total amount.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Madam Temporary Speaker, first, I would like to congratulate my colleague, Sen. Khalwale, who has introduced this amendment and defended the Bill passionately. I am sure he took a lot of time to consider and think about the amendments he has brought on the Floor of the House.

Funding of political parties in this country, in the first place, is perhaps one of the greatest milestones in terms of entrenching democracy in this country. Therefore, it is one of the welcome items that were introduced through our Constitution. I want to look at this from a different perspective. I am informed by what I believe.

Multiplication of parties is not an indication of democracy. That does not mean that the more parties we have in the country, the better democracy we will have. I have difficulties in supporting the amendments. I will give some reasons why I have a problem. The reason given for wanting to exclude the votes cast for the President is the fact that some parties will choose to support the President and not field their own. This is something that happens to all other seats. There are many parties that we know which did

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

I am not seeing any more requests.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I would like to request that we move to another Motion.

Sen. Godliver, you are out of order. You can only move for an adjournment and you must do it procedurally. Nevertheless, let me consult with the Mover. Hon. Senators, you realize that this is a Motion that has a lot of political implications and impact to this nation. Under the circumstances, since no other Senator wants to contribute, I would have called upon the Mover to reply, but having consulted with him, he is of the opinion as I am that more Senators would want to speak to this Motion.

Madam Temporary Speaker, Sir, considering that this Bill before us is of great interest to this nation and has political consequences, under Standing Order No.99 (1) , I request that we adjourn the debate for now.

Granted. Who is seconding?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I concur with the Senator and I second.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

The last time that we were debating this Motion, Sen. Amos Wako, was giving his contributions and he had some remaining minutes. But since he is not in the House, I will give the Floor to Sen. Zani.

Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I stand to support the Motion by Prof. Lonyangapuo and congratulate him for delving into an area that is not talked about as often as it should. This is because it is the foundation of knowledge and the way people get to really understand, conceptualize and confirm the issues or questions that are raised regarding various issues in various disciplines, be it history, sociology, geography or political science.

Madam Temporary Speaker, for a long time, the area of research has been really a mystery. It seems like a complicated process and, therefore, very many institutions start research courses in higher levels of learning rather than much earlier. So, you will find that the first time that somebody will come across the concept of research is in the first, second or third year of university or during a Masters course. In various countries, you

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Before you proceed, Senator, I would like you to know that I have not been issued with your written submission of the amendment.

consulted the Clerk-at-the-Table) I have gone through your written submission and I do not think it substantially alters the spirit of the Motion. So, you can move.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to move:- THAT, the Motion be amended by deleting the words “national budget” and substitute it with the words “gross domestic product”. I beg to move and ask Sen. Okong’o to second.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to second this amendment by Sen. (Dr.) Zani. This is a very important Motion that requires that we empower our citizenry at an early age. If we pass this Motion as amended, it will be very important

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Is there any Member willing to talk to the amendment?

Madam Temporary Speaker, I rise to once again support the Motion as amended. As mentioned by the previous speakers, research is a very important aspect of life and one in which we can move our knowledge and knowhow to be used to our advantage in society. Innovation and research go together. Innovation is one of those things that you have ideas on how to do things, perhaps not completely. To be able to do them completely, you need to do some research.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I am aware that this country has a lot of young people who are very innovative. However, their innovations require support. I remember about a year or two ago, a young man in Kiambu County had innovated and attempted to fly an aircraft by designing and modifying engines. He was able to put the engines together and at one point, he was in the middle of a field where he tried to take off. I believe this time, because of the fact that this country is not concerned with research, that young man is now disappointed somewhere in the village because he was not assisted and there were no funds available to nurture the innovation that he had come up with. This Motion has come at the right time. It has touched on areas that have limited research in this country. It is only the funds and the legislation that are not there to provide support. I know there are many areas in which research can be used especially in the area of agriculture and food.

Madam Temporary Speaker, I wish to support the Motion as amended.

Hon. Senators, I have not seen any more interest from Senators wishing to speak to the amendment. I will now put the question.

July1, 2014 SENATE DEBATES

Hon. Senators, it is now 6.30 p.m. Therefore, the Senate stands adjourned to tomorrow, Wednesday, 2nd July, 2014, at 2.30