• The panel chaired by Bomet Senator Hillary Sigei argued that the proposed law is unconstitutional and limits the legislative mandate of the Senate.
• Since the reintroduction of the Senate in 2013, the two Houses of Parliament have engaged in bitter fights over the legislative role.
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A bid to enact a law to end the perennial supremacy battle between the Senate and the National Assembly has hit a snag in what could further perpetuate the squabbles.
The development came after the Senate rejected a Bill by the National Assembly that stipulates the roles of the two Houses to end the fights.
Senate Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee has recommended to the House to reject the Houses of Parliament (Bicameral Relations) Bill, 2023.
The panel chaired by Bomet Senator Hillary Sigei argued that the proposed law is unconstitutional and limits the legislative mandate of the Senate.
“The committee recommends that the Bill be rejected by the Senate at second reading stage, to pave way for mediation on the Bill as contemplated under Article 113 of the Constitution,” the committee said in a report.
According to the committee, the Bill seeks to fundamentally restrict the legislative and representative mandate of the Senate as provided for in the Constitution.
“The Bill violates the Constitution by derogating from provisions of the Constitution and judicial pronouncements on the procedure for introduction and processing of the legislation in the two Houses of Parliament,” the report says.
The committee noted the Bill violated Article 118 of the Constitution by proposing that a committee of the second House of Parliament can elect not to conduct public participation on account of public participation conducted by a committee of the other House of Parliament.
The Bill, the committee said, restricts access to judicial intervention as well as punishes state and public officers by introducing fetters and punitive measures to officers who would be deemed to have advised a House to pursue judicial intervention in a matter, contrary to the Constitution.
If the whose House of the Senate approves the committee recommendations, the leadership of Parliament will have to go back to the drawing board.
Since the reintroduction of the Senate in 2013, the two Houses of Parliament have engaged in bitter fights over the legislative role.
Last year, the Supreme Court gave the two Houses 60 days to resolve their conflict following a case filed by the Senate challenging the legality of several pieces of legislation that were enacted without their input.
“We are ready as a court to hear it so in the event you do not reach a settlement within this period you have set the matter, we confirm is ready for hearing,” Chief Justice Martha Koome said.
The new proposed law defines Bills that each of the Houses is mandated to consider as well as procedures for classifying the Bills.
“The Bill also seeks to foster the bicameral relations by prescribing procedures for ensuring seamless consideration of the legislative business of both Houses,” the Bill states.
The proposed law, sponsored by Ainabkoi MP Samwel Chepkonga, has also been approved by the National Assembly.
It has been introduced for first reading in the Senate.
It provides a framework for determining the nature of a Bill, defining the Bills that do not require a joint resolution by the Speakers.
It also defines Bills that are considered only by the National Assembly, ones that do not concern county governments as well as those concerning county governments.
“The Bill provides for the seamless processing of matters of a bicameral nature by the Houses of Parliament and a mode of resolving any disputes that may arise between the Houses,” the Bill reads.
The Bill mandates the Speaker to examine the contents of any Bill proposed by a member as well as the memorandum of objects and reasons to ascertain its inherent nature.
The Speaker shall also consider whether the Bill falls under the exclusive mandate of the National Assembly or whether it specifically affects the functions and powers of the county governments as set out in the Constitution.
The Bill states that where a member in charge of a Bill intends to co-sponsor a Bill with a member of the other House, the member shall include in the memorandum of objects of the Bill a statement indicating the name of the member of the other House who shall be in charge of the Bill upon its passage by the originating House.
It says where one Speaker raises a question about the nature of a Bill and notifies the other Speaker, the second shall agree or disagree with it.
“Whenever a Speaker of the second House agrees with the question raised as contemplated, the Speaker shall prepare and transmit a certificate of joint resolution in duplicate for enforcement by the Speaker of the originating House," it states.