•The speaker blocked the consideration and processing of the proposed laws in the senate for lack of concurrence prior to their introduction in the national assembly.
•All the bills were originated in the National Assembly and processed through all the stages of legislation.
Image: PSCU
Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka has rejected four bills from the National Assembly, triggering a fresh feud between the sister Houses of Parliament.
The speaker blocked the consideration and processing of the proposed laws in the Senate for lack of concurrence prior to their introduction in the national assembly.
They are Health (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Cancer Prevention and Control (Amendment) Bill, 2019, The National Youth Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and the Public Service (Values and Principles) (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
All the bills were originated in the National Assembly and processed through all the stages of legislation.
Upon approval by the House, National assembly speaker Justin Muturi sent them to the Senate for consideration through a message to Lusaka as provided for in the standing orders.
But Lusaka rejected the bills, saying that their introduction in the sister house was unconstitutional.
He cited a High Court ruling that the two speakers of the two Houses must seek concurrence before any bill is introduced in either House.
“The High Court ordered that all Bills for which the concurrence process contemplated under Article 110(3) of the Constitution could not be demonstrated be ceased and that the said concurrence process be adhered to before introduction of such Bills in either House of Parliament,” he said.
“As such, the Bills ought to be aligned to Article 110(3) of the Constitution, following which the Bills will be read a First Time in the Senate,” he added.
The speaker ruled, “In view of the foregoing, the said Bills, as received from the National Assembly will not be proceeded with in the Senate,” he said.
The move has activated the already strained relationships characterised by supremacy battles between the two Houses of Parliament over legislation.
On Tuesday, Muturi told the Star that he was not aware of the rejection of the bills and thus could not divulge the next cause of action.
In October 2019, the High Court nullified 24 pieces of legislations that had been passed by the National Assembly without involving the senate. The senate had petitioned the court.
A three-judge bench on Thursday ruled that the Speaker of the National Assembly must involve 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.
In his communication to the House, Lusaka said the four bills he rejected were among the 24 that the court nullified for lack of concurrence.
“They were among the Bills for which the concurrence process pursuant to Article 110(3) of the Constitution could not be demonstrated by the time the High Court gave its judgment,” he said.
The Health (Amendment) Bill, 2019 amends the Health Act no. 21 of 2017 to introduce a new section to provide for development of policy guidelines to regulate the referral of patients to health institutions both within and outside the country.
It is sponsored by Kesses MP Mishra Swarup.
The Cancer Prevention and Control (Amendment) Bill, 2019 amends the principal act to make provision for training of health cadres in the specialized medical field of oncology, to include cancer treatment as part of the provision of primary healthcare.
Homa Bay woman representative is the brains behind the amendments.
The National Youth Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019 aims to depoliticize the membership of the National Youth Council by allowing competitive recruitment of the youth serving in the council through office of county directors of youth.
It is sponsored by nominated MP Gideon Keter.
The Public Service (Values and Principles) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 amends the principal Act to require all state organs in the national and county governments and state corporations to submit annual reports on details of the human resource in Commissions, independent offices and County Public Service Boards and County Assembly Service Board.
Mwatate MP Andrew Mwadime is the sponsor of the proposed law.