• He said in a communication to members on Tuesday evening that at least 42 county assemblies approved the bill.
•Muturi said the House Business Committee set the date as the bill does not require the 14 day period applicable to other bills.
Image: FILE
The BBI-sponsored Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will be introduced in Parliament on Thursday, National Assembly speaker Justin Muturi has said.
He said in a communication to members on Tuesday evening that at least 42 county assemblies had submitted their decisions on the bill sponsored under the Building Bridges Initiative.
Muturi said the House Business Committee set the Thursday date as the bill does not require the 14 day period applicable to other bills.
Five counties namely Migori, Elgeyo Marakwet, Uasin Gishu, Mandera, and Kilifi are yet to submit their decisions on the draft bill as at close of business on Tuesday.
Muturi said the decision on the BBI bill follows the provision of Article 257 of the Constitution which provides for expeditious introduction of legislation driven under a popular initiative.
The speaker said the 14-day period applies to a bill that is being introduced in a House for the first time.
“It does not apply to a bill that has originated from another House,” he said.
“To my mind, the urgency implied by the provision seems to be drawn from the lengthy process attached to the consideration of the Bill in terms of collection of signatures in support; verification of said signatures; public participation by the various county assemblies and ultimately approval by the assemblies,” the speaker said.
Parliament had initially sought to publish the bill under a new title “Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and a footnote indicating approval by majority of county assemblies – a move which it has since backtracked on.
Muturi said they deliberated on the republishing and concluded it adds no value to the bill, and risks to change the format of the bill as submitted to county assemblies by the IEBC.
The bill will, therefore, be introduced in the form that it was presented to the 47 county assemblies by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Muturi directed the Clerk of the National Assembly to obtain sufficient copies of the Bill to enable its introduction into the House.
“I am of the opinion therefore that the House is under an obligation to do everything necessary within its powers to expedite the introduction of the Bill for consideration.”
“In order protect the integrity of the Bill as proposed by its promoters and presented to the county assemblies, I am now of the opinion that republication of the Bill would serve no practical purpose, may lead to unnecessary delay in the introduction and consideration of the Bill and may create confusion as to the operative version of the Bill,” he added.
The communication came barely hours after Elgeyo Marakwet MCAs rejected the bill while their counterparts in Mandera passed the same.