• Senators accuse MPs of undermining their roles and overlooking them in legislation
• They say National Assembly Speaker unilaterally decides which bill should go to Senate
Image: COURTESY
The bitter rivalry between the Senate and the National Assembly played out in the open on Wednesday as the legislators clashed in the houses.
While senators accused their counterparts of undermining their roles and overlooking them on matters legislation, the MPs faulted them for overstepping their mandate and vowed to abolish the Senate.
Senators said they will next week sue National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi for constantly violating the law that provides for the concurrence of the two houses on laws touching on counties.
“They have been saying our role is only limited to county matters, but I want to ask, which law in this country does not touch on counties? The Speaker (Muturi) has been unilaterally deciding which bill should come to the Senate,” Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen said.
Murkomen accused his National Assembly counterpart Aden Duale of suffering from big man syndrome.
“We do not suffer superiority complex as others do. You cannot intimidate us. We are focusing on the universe and we are not after the Mr Big Man title,” he said.
Murkomen, while moving the motion on Wednesday afternoon, said the Senate has the mandate to investigate everything and invite anybody to its committees to provide information, contrary to assertions by the MPs.
“The reason why the National Assembly is bitter with us is that we are thorough in our work. We have investigated Ruaraka land saga, Solai dam and many others that they have been unable to do,” he said.
Earlier, MPs, who debated the matter during the morning session, put a spirited fight to dislodge their Senate counterparts from acting as the Upper House.
Promising to embark on a journey towards abolishing the Senate, the National Assembly said it was time the duplication of legislative roles ended.
The lawmakers said the issues pitting them against the Senate are based on the law.
Duale, while moving the motion for debate, said they acted with restraint when the supremacy row erupted for the first time.
He said the National Assembly gave the Senate more time to familiarise itself with the new functions as spelt out in the Constitution.
“We cannot wait for the baby to walk forever. We must teach the baby (Senate) how to walk, where to walk and its boundaries.”
The Garissa Township MP added, “If we don’t teach them today, I am afraid the traction of abolishing the Senate will gain momentum and soon we will have no baby to talk about.”
He held that the Senate needs to be sober to call for a review of their mandate with other legislators.
“The Senate is a House that thrives in the event of mediation and when bills collapse. We have no mischievous intentions in our attempt to help Kenyans interpret the Constitution,” Duale said, a view echoed by several other members.
Already, MPs have threatened to move to court to challenge the constitutionality of leadership positions held by senators.
Further to this, Duale reiterated the call for an audit of all bills passed by the Senate so far saying they may have been enacted illegally.
He further said some of the bills were passed without a quorum.
“I am even told that every senator is a chair or a vice chair of the 20 committees in the House. What is the relevance of committees such as that of Defence, National Security in the Senate?”
The National Assembly further wants clarification on why the Senate has been inviting national government officers to answer to queries.
“We need to ask these leaders on what basis they appeared before the Senate. If they have no explanation, they will be liable for impeachment,” Duale said.
Edited by R.Wamochie