The legislative authority of the republic is derived from the people, while at the national level, it is vested in and exercised by Parliament.
Kenyan citizens go to the polls to elect their representatives at every level of the two-tier governments: MCAs, members of the National Assembly and senators. Through the ballot, the people donate their sovereign power to be exercised indirectly by the legislative representatives as enshrined under Article 1 of the Constitution. MPs have to exercise the donated powers in the interest of the people.
On the other hand, Parliament, just like the Judiciary and Executive, exercises independent powers granted under the constitution. The independence of Parliament is first manifested in vesting all legislative powers to the august House and, secondly, it exercises the sovereign power donated by the people.
The big question is whether the current Parliament has lived up to the billing of the voters. We all watched how MPs debated and voted during the Affordable Housing Bill, 2023. Interestingly, 141 legislators voted in favour of the Bill to sail to the Third Reading while 56 opposed it.
It is worth noting that we have 349 members of the National Assembly who ought to have been present during debating and voting for or against the Bill. It pains Kenyans to see their representatives failing to represent them in crucial matters only for them to come out to voice their unhelpful views outside Parliament.
Matters of national importance should be prosecuted on the floor of the House and any elected leader who absconds such a crucial duty should be called out as a sellout and letdown to the people. Kenyans should remind all the 152 MPs who skipped the vote that they absconded their jobs and donated their powers to known quarters at the expense of their bosses, the people of Kenya.
Surprisingly, some of the MPs who walked out when the Bill was being debated had made proposals to amend the proposed law. In their absence, crucial amendments could not be debated, making it easy for the Bill to move to the next stage.
Parliament shall exercise its legislative power through bills passed by Parliament and assented to by the President. Where an elected member of the National Assembly or the Senate skips Parliament, he or she will have failed to exercise rightly donated powers. Lately, it appears the 13th Parliament has lost its independence as granted by Kenyans under the constitution.
It is now a common for lawmakers to publicly support bills crafted by the Executive before being debated on the floor of the House. One wonders whether Parliament has become an extension of the Executive despite the independence guaranteed under the constitution.
Where Parliament fails to perform its duties, it deprives the implementing arm, the Executive, precious advice and constantly puts the court at loggerheads with the Executive once defective laws are regularly passed and assented to by the President. Such laws eventually get annulled by the courts whenever irregularities are established.
All laws, including those crafted by the Executive, must be debated by the relevant House through live coverage for the masses to be allowed time to submit their recommendations before they are eventually passed and forwarded to the President.
In a constitutional democracy like ours, all three arms of government should be able to discharge their mandates within the confines of the law. The Executive cannot wake up and demand Parliament to pass laws as per their wishes.
Undoubtedly, no MP should feign ignorance that all 50 million plus Kenyans can fit in the building along Parliament Road to prosecute issues of national concern. It is for this reason that Kenyans should not go on a holiday to remind the elected representatives at whatever level of government that the people’s sovereign power is delegated to the elected leaders.
Lawyer and public policy consultant ([email protected])
