The newfound friendship between President William Ruto and opposition chief Raila Odinga coupled with wrangles between the Houses of Parliament and apparent lassitude have stalled Nadco Bills in Parliament.
The Star has established an apparent lack of urgency from both Kenya Kwanza and Azimio to push through the Bills amid blame games.
The Bills were meant to anchor the recommendations of the National Dialogue Committee which ended the protracted fight between the government and the opposition.
“If they manage to get two or three bills, they will be lucky. It is not a priority the way I see it. Only the IEBC Bill is a priority. I don’t see anybody pushing the others. The bills have owners,” National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohamed said.
The bills, products of the National Dialogue Committee that ended months of violent and destructive street protests by the opposition, have stalled for five months now.
Only the one changing the structure and composition of the panel for recruiting IEBC commissioners was passed in Parliament last Thursday.
Matungu MP Oscar Nabulindo said the move by Raila to work with Ruto has complicated matters as the opposition can no longer push the government wing to fast-track the bills.
“Raila cooperating with the government of the day and especially with the President has complicated the consideration of the report. If the opposition leader is working with the government, how do you expect ODM MPs to behave?” he asked.
Political observer Martin Andati agreed with Nabulindo’s assertions.
“Nobody will bother about the implementation of the report because they achieved what they wanted. Kenyans are out of the streets and Raila has secured his interest. He is going to the AU and cannot turn around and call for demonstrations,” he said.
Wrangles between the Senate and the National Assembly could have also contributed to the delayed passage of the bills.
“We also want to delink the Senate so that the National Assembly can consider its Bills separately and the Senate can also consider theirs separately,” said National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chairman George Murugara.
He is also the co-chair of the joint panel that was tasked with considering the bills.
“Our times are conflicting. The Senate may not be able to attend our meetings and the National Assembly may not be able to attend the meeting,” Murugara said.
The speaker of the bicameral parliament had given the joint Justice and Legal Affairs Committee 45 days to consider the bills and file a joint report.
However, the deadline elapsed nearly two months ago. The leadership of the joint panel has not sought an extension on the floor.
“There was a delay because in between, we could be on recess while the Senate is sitting and when we are sitting like now, the Senate is on recess. We have agreed to consider the bills separately to move faster,” Murugara said.
The Tharaka MP said he is going to seek a 45-day extension to complete the assignment.
He dismissed claims of a lack of goodwill to process the Bills.
“We have all the goodwill. We have no problem. But we are saying sorry. Time is not on our side,” Murugara said.
However, some opposition lawmakers blamed the government wing for lacking goodwill to push the bills despite their numerical strength.
“Kenya Kwanza has no interest in the Nadco report. They are not serious. If they were serious, the report would have been rushed the way the Finance Bill has been rushed,” said Mwingi Central MP Gideon Mulyungi.
“It looks like it was a tactic to end protests. Thank God the maandamanos have come back with Gen Zs.”
Nadco was formed following a protracted figh marked with deadly and destructive protests between the government and the opposition.
The opposition demanded an audit of the 2022 presidential election as well as a reduction in the cost of living
So far, only one Bill out of the nine that were fronted by the committee and introduced in the two Houses has been approved.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023 has been passed by the two houses.
The Bill is currently in the National Assembly which is considering amendments introduced by the Senate before it is sent to the President for assent.
"The IEBC Bill is urgent because we cannot continue operating without IEBC yet we have constituencies and wards that have pending by-elections. We need IEBC to be up and running," Junet said.
The Bill changes the composition of the IEBC selection panel. The passage of the Bill will pave way for recruitment of commissioners of the electoral agency.
Other Nadco bills are the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to anchor offices, funds and reforms and to extend the term of the Senate.
The bill amends articles of the Constitution to create and anchor the Senate Oversight Fund, National Government Affirmative Action Fund and National Government Constituency Development Fund.
Others are the Elections Offenses (Amendment), Bill, 2023, which provides tough punishment for IEBC officials who conduct polls outside gazetted stations or inordinately delay to release of results.
Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which bars party hoping has also been introduced alongside the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Statutory Instruments (Amendments) Bill, 2023, the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the National Government Coordination (Amendment) Bill, 2023, are also pending before Parliament.
Four Bills were introduced in the two houses.
Those introduced in the Senate are co-sponsored by Majority leader Aaron Cheruiyot and his minority counterpart Stewart Madzayo.
Those in the National Assembly are sponsored by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa and his minority counterpart Opiyo Wandayi.
Two months ago, President Ruto asked Parliament to expedite the bills to anchor the recommendations of the committee.
“The Nadco report has been hanging somewhere in Parliament. I do not know at which stage the report is but it seems to be moving slowly. Speed it up.
“The report seems stuck as you are drinking tea in Parliament,” he told the parliament leadership during the celebrations to mark 20 years of the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) in April.