Senate · Afternoon Sitting

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes. Serjeant-at-arms, stop the Bell now. I am informed we have the quorum now. Thank you. Clerk, please, proceed to call the first Order.

[(The Clerk-at-the-table consulted the Speaker)]

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

[(Several Senators walked into the Chamber)]

Hon. Senators, I hereby report to the Senate that a Petition has been submitted, through the Clerk, by Supply Chain Management Assistants, concerning discrimination against other health workers in the Ministry of Health. As you are aware, under Article 119 (1) of the Constitution, and I quote- “Every person has the right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority, includin…

Hon. Senators, the salient issues raised in this Petition are as follows-

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Petition Reports on the Table of the Senate, today, 19th July, 2023-

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate, today 20th July, 2023- Report of the Auditor-General on the financial statements of the Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company Limited for the year ended 30th June, 2022. Report of the Auditor-General on the financial statements of Mumias Municipality for 22 months’ period ending 30th June, 2022. Report of the Auditor-G…

[(Sen. (Dr.) Lelegwe Ltumbesi laid the documents on the Table)]

Next order.

Proceed, Sen. Okenyuri.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations on boundary delimitation of the area surrounding Migingo Island in Lake Victoria. In the Statement, the Committee should-

Proceed, Sen. Cherarkey.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I kindly request for that Statement to be deferred to Tuesday at 2.30 p.m. Thank you.

[(Statement deferred)]

Proceed, Sen. Nyamu.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise, pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget, regarding the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) Programme which requires that at least 30 per cent of Government procurement be reserved for enterprises owned by the youth, women and Persons living with Disabilities (PWDs) in compliance with Arti…

Hon. Senators, we will now have the Statement Pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) . Proceed, Senate Majority Leader. What is your intervention, Sen. Cherarkey?

[(Sen. Cherarkey spoke off record)]

Mr. Speaker, Sir, using Standing Order No.1, I request that you allow us to say something on the two Statements because they are critical. With your indulgence, can I go first?

I do not think your request is properly made. Standing Order No.1 only applies where it is not expressly stated in any other Standing Order. If you read Standing Order No.53 (1) where these statements are made, it provides that the Speaker may allow interventions for 15 minutes per Statement, which provision I have declined, so that we cover more ground on Bills and Motions. Anyway, I will allow…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for that indulgence. Just to comment on the two Statements by Sen. Okenyuri about the border issues. We have the County Boundaries Bill, which I do not know how far it has gone. I think it will assist in resolving some of those issues. The governments of Kenya and Uganda enjoy a cordial working relationship. Perhaps the diplomatic corps, the Ministry of Foreign and Di…

The biggest culprits are county governments because they award tenders to tenderpreneurs. Those are people beyond 35 years. Young people are relegated only to being hired during political rallies and for other issues that do not assist them. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I expected Sen. Nyamu to include in that Statement---

Sen. Kinyua, you may have the Floor.

Bw. Spika, naunga mkono Taarifa iliyoletwa na Sen. Nyamu. Katiba yetu inasema kuwa vijana, akina mama na watu wanaoishi na ulemavu wanafaa kupewa fursa ya kufanya biashara na serikali zetu. Kuna baadhi za kaunti zinazowapa makundi niliyotaja fursa ya kufanya biashara. La muhimu sio tu kupewa fursa ya kufanya biashara. Hata wanapopewa fursa ya kufanya biashara, utapata kuwa hawalipwi. Wanafaa kusa…

Proceed, Sen. Munyi Mundigi.

Bw. Spika, naunga mkono Taarifa hii. Mambo ya AGPO yanafaa kuangaliwa vizuri kwa sababu kwa miaka mingi, vijana, akina mama na watu wanaoishi na ulemavu wamekuwa wakinyanyaswa. Utapata matajiri wengi wanasajili kampuni kutumia majina ya vijana, akina mama na watu wanaoishi na ulemavu. Uchunguzi unafaa kufanywa kujua wamiliki halisi wa kampuni ili kuhakikisha kuwa vijana, akina mama na watu wanaoi…

Sen. Thangw’a, you may have the Floor.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support both Statements sought by the Senators. On the issue of Migingo Island, this is something I have heard about for quite a long time. The people of Migingo Island have been suffering. Actually, if there is any place that needs mandamano right now, it is that area to fight for their rights. They have been harassed by the police from the neighbouring country for qu…

morning and go about their businesses without being afraid that somebody is going to harass, kill, detain illegally or bar them from doing their daily activities. Mr. Speaker, Sir, that Island is where fisherman land after doing their businesses. I urge the Committee that will deal with this issue to dig deeper and establish why those people have been let to suffer like that. On the other Statem…

Sen. Mandago, you may have the Floor.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will pick from where the Senator for Kiambu left regarding the AGPO. There has been a deliberate effort in this country. We loud the Government of Kenya, county governments, agencies, and particularly Parliament for passing the Bill to allow the youth, women and PwDs to participate in Government business. When it comes to young people, PwDs and women, because of lack of capit…

[(Sen. Mandago’s microphone was switched off)]

Hon. Senators, we have expended the 15 minutes allowable under Standing Order No.53 (3) . We therefore move to Statements pursuant to Standing Order No. 57 (1) . The Senate Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No. 57 (1) , I hereby present the business of the Senate for the week commencing Tuesday, 25th July, 2023.

Before I proceed, I take this opportunity to welcome you back from the two-week recess. I hope that you were able to meet with your constituents, friends and families and that you took time off to rest and recharge. Part IV of the Senate Calendar commenced on Tuesday, 18th July, 2023 and will run until the rise of the Senate on Thursday, 10th August, 2023. This Part begins with crucial business …

Next Order.

Next Order. Second Reading

At the interruption of debate, Sen. Joe Nyutu was on his feet and he had 16 minutes’ balance. He is not in the Chamber and, therefore, we will proceed to allow other Senators make their contribution. Proceed, Sen. (Prof.) Kamar. Sen. (Prof.) Kamar: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to support the Bill that was brought forward by Sen. Crystal Asige. This is an important Bill as far …

We know that in our country PwDs have suffered at the family front, in the education sector and not being supported by the Government. The sad part is that they are not taken care of very much at the family level, firstly because of cultural beliefs that were there from time immemorial. Therefore, because of cultural beliefs, these people were left on their own and sometimes, only left at the mer…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the rights of PwDs are, therefore, affected on several levels. They are hampered as far as education is concerned. So, they do not get education at the right time. We know that disability takes you back a few steps, but we must facilitate to ensure that everybody, according to the Constitution, is taken care of, that equality is ensured. I thank our sister for emphasizing in this…

are taught Sign Language while in primary school from Class one, two, three, all our children in this country will sign. This is very important for integration purposes. It is very important so that when we say we want to integrate the children, then anybody can sign. I will come back to the story of the trainer. Sign language for every child is a very important and progressive step as far as our…

Those parents and caregivers must be taken care of. I hope that this Bill will put emphasis on caregivers because they are very special Kenyans and people who must be supported. We know that there is money that is given to a disabled child. We need to be careful and ensure that the support is reaching the child. Apart from the support of the child, we also need separate support for the caregiver.…

Those parents and caregivers must be taken care of. I hope that this Bill will put emphasis on caregivers because they are very special Kenyans and people who must be supported. We know that there is money that is given to a disabled child. We need to be careful and ensure that the support is reaching the child. Apart from the support of the child, we also need separate support for the caregiver.…

Proceed, Sen. Okiya Omtatah.

Crystal Asige. She is always elegantly dressed, punctual, and articulate in her presentations. However, she was maybe able to achieve that because her parents had the means and capacity to make her what she was meant to be. Imagine if Sen. Crystal Asige had been born into a family that was materially challenged? Maybe she would be sitting with a begging ball at a corner of a certain street. So, i…

I congratulate Sen. Crystal Asige for this very brilliant Bill. I look forward to seeing it enacted into a law that will move us forward. I hope it will lead to the implementation of the Constitution of Kenya, which has faced a lot of challenges in its implementation, sometimes because of the negligence of those who are supposed to implement it; sometimes because of the incompetence of those who a…

I congratulate Sen. Crystal Asige for this very brilliant Bill. I look forward to seeing it enacted into a law that will move us forward. I hope it will lead to the implementation of the Constitution of Kenya, which has faced a lot of challenges in its implementation, sometimes because of the negligence of those who are supposed to implement it; sometimes because of the incompetence of those who a…

Hon. Senators, there being no other Senator wishing to contribute to this debate, I will call upon the Mover to reply. Sen. Crystal Asige, you may proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am just opening my notes.

Okay, and Senator, you have half-an-hour to reply.

school to help a visually impaired child to learn. It takes about Kshs20 to get a child without visually disability to read a book. To have an accessible washroom, you have to cough out around Kshs189,000 to build an accessible washroom with all the gadgets needed to accommodate any kind of disability. When you go to any other shop for a normal loo, it costs about Kshs2,000 or Kshs3,000 in compar…

[[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Veronica Maina) in the Chair]]

Hon. Senator, I am now on the Chair.

[[The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Veronica Maina) in the Chair]]

Hon. Senator, I am now on the Chair.

Thank you, Hon. Senator. We will defer the division and putting of the question due to numbers. This will happen next week on Tuesday at 2.30 p.m. We will also reorganize the Order Paper. Clerk, kindly call the next Order. Next is Order No.15 Second Reading

[(Putting of the Question on the Bill deferred)]

[(The Clerk-at-the-table approached the Chair)]

Proceed, Hon. Sen. Orwoba.

necessary thereby optimizing the use of water by eliminating water overexploitation, waste water management, and pollution; NOW THEREFORE the Senate urges the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development in coordination with the Council of Governors and the National Environment Management Authority to:

It is resumption of debate on this Motion. Since no Senator is interested in debating, I will defer it to next week on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. Next Order.

The Mover of this Bill Sen. (Dr.) Murango is equally not there. I direct that the same be deferred to next week Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. Second reading

Sen. Wakili Sigei? He was here earlier in the Sitting. I do not see him in Chambers now. I direct that the same be deferred to next week Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. Next Order. Second reading

Sen. M. Kajwang? Equally, he is not in Chambers now. I direct that the same be listed next week on Tuesday at 2:30.

Sen. M. Kajwang? Equally, he is not in Chambers now. I direct that the same be listed next week on Tuesday at 2:30.

Hon. Senators, there being no other business on the Order Paper, the Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday 25th July 2023 at 2:30. p.m. The Senate rose at 5:53 p.m.