National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has denied claims by Senate Minority Leader James Orengo that Parliament had spent Sh90 million in legal fees on a dispute over the legality of 24 pieces of legislation.
The Senate had sued the National Assembly because there was no concurrence between the speakers of the two Houses before the publication of the legislation.
“They have paid lawyers Sh90 million to prosecute this case. I understand that has been spent just in the Court of Appeal. The Senate has not spent a single cent in this case,” Orengo said on the floor of the House on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Muturi suggested the two speakers were making headway in the row.
“No bills are going to be republished because the resolution required between the two speakers has already happened and we are progressing well,” Muturi told the Star.
In 2019, the Senate moved to court to challenge the decision by the National Assembly to pass laws without their input.
In October last year, a three-judge bench nullified the laws on grounds that the Speaker of the National Assembly involves his Senate counterpart.
“The impugned acts are in contravention of Article 96, 109, 110, 111, 112 and 113 of the Constitution and are therefore unconstitutional, null and void,” the judges ruled.
Further, the judges ruled that the two speakers must henceforth seek concurrence before any bill is introduced in either House.
The National Assembly appealed the ruling. Parliament is represented in the case by a team of lawyers led by Paul Muite.
The Senate, on the other hand, is represented by senators Orengo, Okongo Mogeni (Nyamira) and Mutula Kilonzo Jr (Makueni).
Last week, justices Martha Koome, Patrick Kiage and Hannah Okwengu declined to suspend the High Court order that quashed the laws.
Following the High Court ruling, Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka ordered more than 40 bills that had been introduced in the Senate dropped and concurrence sought before they are republished and tabled.
“Tremendous strides have been made to regularize all Bills. To date, a total of nineteen (19) Bills have been republished. I have approved a further ten (10) Bills for republication, and which will thereafter be subjected to the resolution process under Article 110 (3) of the Constitution,” Lusaka said in his communication to the House on Tuesday.
The two Houses have been involved in intermittent squabbles that have at times threatened to paralysis government operations.
In 2019, they clashed over the passage of Division of Revenue Bill — legislation that divides revenue between the national and county governments.
The standoff plunged counties into a cash crunch, forcing governors to shut down some operations.
