Senate · Afternoon Sitting

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

[(The Clerk-at-the-Table consulted with the Speaker)]

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

[(Several Senators walked into the Chamber)]

Serjeant-At-Arms, I am informed that we now have quorum. Kindly stop the bell. Clerk, proceed to call the first Order, please.

Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker's Gallery this afternoon, of a visiting delegation from the National Assembly of Zambia. The delegation comprises members of staff who are undergoing a training programme at the Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training

(CPST). I request each member of the delegation to stand when called out so that they may be acknowledged in the Senate tradition.

[(Applause)]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the honour. I take this opportunity to warmly welcome the delegation. I hope they are going to find their visit to the Senate fruitful. I urge them to visit all the corners of the Senate and, if possible, talk to the leadership of the House and committees. They will find it very invaluable when they go back home. I thank you.

Next Order.

Hon. Chairperson, Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare to present a report on a Petition that they had looked into. Do we have the Chairperson or any other Member from that Committee to present the report? They seem not ready. That is deferred. Next Order.

[(Petition Deferred)]

Chairperson, Select Committee on Delegated Legislation, can you proceed to lay your Papers? The Chairperson or any Member of that Committee to proceed to lay the Papers. That is deferred.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to lay the following Paper on the table of Senate, today, 5th October, 2023- The annual report of the National Police Service Commission for the Financial Year 2022/2023. I thank you.

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

Next Order, Clerk.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise, pursuant to Standing Order No.52 (1) , to make a Statement on a matter of county-wide and general topical concern, namely; the disparities in service delivery to refugee communities in Kakuma and Kalobeyei camps and the Turkana Community. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Kakuma Refugee Camp, which comprises of Kakuma One, Two, Three and Four, and the Kalobeyei integrated set…

between the host and refugee communities, discrimination against the locals in accessing services is still persistent. Mr. Speaker, Sir, these services include-

Sen. Cherarkey proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.52 (1) to make a Statement on an issue of general topical concern and national importance, namely, stunning performance by our athletes at the World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia on Sunday, this week. Mr. Speaker, Sir, once again our athletes made us proud on Sunday when they topped the world medal table at the just concluded Wor…

address the Senate for their greatest achievements that sometimes go unnoticed. I know that their marathons are equated to political marathons where we might learn a few lessons. By doing this, our athletes who have continued to make us proud as a country at the international arena by flying our flag high always, will feel appreciated and will be motivated to achieve even more for the nation. I …

We will now proceed to Statements pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) . The Statement by Sen. Joe Nyutu is dropped.

Sen. Mwaruma, proceed to read your Statement.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. I rise, pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) , to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources concerning the Part Development Plan (PDP) of Voi Town in Taita Taveta County. In the Statement, the Committee should-

The Statement by Senator for Bungoma, Sen. Wafula is deferred to next week.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I have three Statements.

Order, Sen. Munyi Mundigi. Resume your seat and allow Sen. Chute to be heard in silence.

[(Sen. Munyi Mundigi resumed his seat)]

Sen. Chute, proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to repeat. I rise, pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget regarding allegations of tax exemptions extended by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to the Kenya National Trading Corporation Limited (KNTC) . In the Statement, the Committee should-

Next Statement is by Sen. Cherarkey.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have two Statements. I hope to read them concurrently. I thank you for your indulgence.

Sen. Kibwana! The Statement is dropped.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I have read the first Statement several times. I request that it be cancelled.

Sen. Lomenen, are you saying that you already requested for this Statement?

Yes, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I have read it several times. Even the Cabinet Secretary has answered it several times.

We will take it up with the Secretariat on why it found its way here. Proceed to present your two other Statements.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise, pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Energy regarding inadequate electricity transmission infrastructure connecting major towns within Turkana County to the national grid connection. This is despite their close proximity to electricity generation plants. In the Statement, the Committee should-

Let us now move to Statements pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) . Senate Majority Leader, you may have the Floor.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to make a Statement on behalf of the Senate Majority Leader on the business of the Senate for the week commencing 10th October, 2023. Pursuant to Standing Order No.57 (1) , I hereby present the business of the Senate for the week commencing Tuesday, 10th October, 2023. Before I proceed with the Statement, I take this opportunity to welcome hon. Senators back t…

Next Order. I can see from my dashboard. Sen. Mundigi, what is your intervention?

Bw. Spika, naomba hoja ifuatayo ya kwamba kikao cha Seneti kiairishwe kwa mujibu wa kanuni za kudumu za Seneti Kipengele cha 37 (1) ili kujadili swala mahususi la dharura na muhimu kwa taifa kuhusu ukosefu wa usalama katika nchi yetu haswa mji wa Sondu na katika Kaunti ya Turkana.

[(Several Senators stood up in their place)]

Hon. Senators, pursuant to Standing Order No.37 (5) , indeed, the requisite threshold has been met. Therefore, I direct that this Motion be moved at 5.30 p.m. today.

What is your point of order, Sen. Oketch Gicheru? Just to caution you, a Senator can only rise on a point of order if another Senator is---

Clarification then, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I just want to seek your indulgence that the adjournment Motion that has just been moved by Sen. Mundigi consolidates two important issues. Initially, I had put forward an adjournment Motion on security issues in Sondu and he had put one for Turkana. Would it be in order to plead that perhaps the adjournment starts at 5.00 p.m. so that we get 30 more minutes to be able to vent on…

Sen. Oketch Gicheru, if you look at the Order Paper today, it is pretty heavy. However, I am aware that we have seven Bills that have moved to the level of the Committee of the Whole. I am looking around and I do not see the requisite quorum to prosecute those Bills at the Committee of the Whole. I am, therefore, persuaded to accede to the request by Sen. Oketch Gicheru that instead of the House …

Sen. M. Kajwang’, kindly proceed.

[(Sen. M. Kajwang’ approached the Chair)]

This Order is deferred.

Sen. Onyonka, kindly proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I hope you will accept my apologies. I have been in the Committee on County Public Accounts since 8.00 a.m. I had not even had a glass of water. By a letter dated 29th May, 2023, the Clerk of the County Assembly of Uasin Gishu County transmitted the resolution of the County Assembly to adopt the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the conferment of city status to the Municipality…

[(via the Joint Committees on Land and Physical Planning and Housing and Urban Development)]

For some who may not know the Municipality of Eldoret has been in existence since 1953, and is definitely due for an upgrade. In consideration of the application for conferment of city status to Eldoret Municipality, the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations engaged with various stakeholders on this important issue. In the Spirit of public participation and noting the …

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. As I second this Motion, I will start by clearing that the Urban Areas and Cities Act establishes a framework for three main things. One, it gives a framework for the classification of urban areas and cities. It includes the cities as proposed by the proposed Eldoret city, their municipalities, towns and markets. This framework also establishes a governance and manage…

[[The Speaker (Hon. Kingi) left the Chair] [The Deputy Speaker (Sen. Kathuri) in the Chair]]

development plan which is integrated. The planning ensures that the municipality of the proposed city is orderly on the ground. Planning is about organising the space. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, another criterion spelt out is that Eldoret has the capacity to generate sufficient revenue. The essence of the Urban Areas and Cities Act is that the urban areas will be self-sustaining. They will be ab…

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, you may have the Floor.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I strongly support this Motion. There is no greater urgency to debunk the lie that our towns are not ripe for city status than to give you the example of the Republic of Estonia. Estonia has a population of 1.3 million people only. It has the following cities; Tallinn with a population 450,000 people, Tartu, population of 97,000, Parnu with a population of 4…

[(A hon. Senator spoke off record)]

No, I do not want to substantiate again. Before you know it, Eldoret will become a town of slums instead of being a planned city. The only way to stop Eldoret from becoming a town of slums, let us bestow to it city status now, so that the fathers of the city can start planning for the future to avoid a slum. Eldoret could be the only city in this country that will not have slums. There will be ro…

What is your point of order, Sen. M. Kajwang’?

I have done nothing wrong.

[(Laughter)]

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise on the point of order that addresses relevance. Could Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale tell the House what the teeth of my child have to do with this Motion that is about conferring city status to Eldoret? Could he stick to the Motion and leave the teeth of my child alone, whether he is toothless or otherwise?

[(Laughter)]

Proceed, Sen. Oketch Gicheru.

Mr. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also rise on the same point of order as my senior, the ranking Member of Homa Bay. I do not know what is happening today with the Majority Whip, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale or what he smoked. I know in the region where the Majority Whip comes from, people smoke different things. I do not know whether one passed by his face when he was coming---

What is your point of order?

Relevance, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. Ask the Majority Whip to stick to the topic and leave people’s children out of this discussion of the cities. Unless, he has a substantive Motion to discuss the children of Sen. M. Kajwang’, then he can bring that Motion. If there is a tussle between him and Sen. M. Kajwang’ that they share some children and we do not know, he can let us know.

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, what is this issue that is concerned with children and Eldoret city status?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if I heard correctly from the Senator for Homa Bay, he was challenging me on the Standing Order of relevance. Had he been listening, I was talking about population, where we have made a useless law that says if a town does not reach 250,000 people, it will not acquire city status. It is because of the population factor that I started talking about the lack of children by …

[(Laughter)]

With those many remarks, I look forward to Eldoret becoming a city. If Eldoret becomes a city, it would mean that Kakamega, Migori Town and other areas are on their way to becoming cities. That is the way to go. I support and hope that the Member from the Pokomo community will agree with me.

Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery this afternoon of a visiting delegation from the Uasin Gishu County leadership, who are in the Senate for a one-day visit. I request each member of the delegation to stand when called out, so that you may be acknowledged in the Senate tradition.

[(Applause)]

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I join the Mover, the seconder and the ‘bullfighter’ of Kakamega, who currently goes by the title of ‘the coward of Kakamega’ in supporting this Motion. This is nostalgic because, in the last Parliament, we had a Motion that was brought to this House for the conferment of city status to Nakuru City. I was privileged to be the Chairperson of the Devolution Committee. I bro…

I agree with those who believe that we need more cities. In fact, we need at least 47 cities in this country. The idea that cities are supposed to be somewhere close to the mountain, ocean or lake is completely outdated. Currently, about 27 per cent of Kenya’s population is urban, but it is urban in very squalid conditions. We must ensure that we develop urban areas to cities, and municipalities, …

contingent liability, it comes to an amount that is higher than the annual revenue that Uasin Gishu as a county gets on an annual basis. If you are making a technical decision today, perhaps, we would tell the people of Eldoret to go and sort out their contingent liabilities, pending bills and financial management issues before we can approve the Motion for them to become a city. However, we need…

Proceed, Sen. Mungatana.

Asante sana Bw. Naibu Spika, kwa kunipa nafasi ili nitoe maoni yangu kuhusu Hoja hii. Kwanza nasema ni furaha kubwa sana kwangu leo kuwa mmoja wa wale Maseneta tunaopendekeza Eldoret ipewe kibali cha kuwa Jiji kuu kamili. Mara yangu ya kwanza mimi kuenda Eldoret nilikuwa kijana mdogo sana. Nilikuwa bado shuleni. Miaka hiyo ndugu yangu mkubwa ambaye sasa ni Profesa wa Economics, Eric Mungatana, ali…

mtoto wake. Tulipofika hapo, tofauti ya miaka ile nilikua Eldoret na wakati huu wa mwisho nilipoenda, ni kama mbingu na nchi. Niliona barabara nzuri na watu wazuri kutoka pale uwanja wa ndege. Wakati huo zamani, kulikua hakuna uwanja wa ndege, lakini wakati huu, niliona uwanja wa ndege mkubwa na mzuri. Nikaona pia jiji safi. Tulipokua tunatoka huo uwanja kwenda hotelini, hatukuona takataka kwa bar…

Kajwang’ amesema anataka kuwe na mijiji mikubwa 47 humu nchini. Lakini, je magavana wako macho na kuangalia vile wenzao wanafanya? Kuna watu wametafuta hizi nafasi ili wajitajirishe wenyewe. Hawana mioyo ya kusaidia wananchi na Mungu anawaona na siku zao zitafika. Sio kupoteza kiti peke yake. Ni lazima wasimame wakati wataulizwa vile walipewa nafasi ya kua Gavana wa jimbo au gatuzi fulani, walifa…

Thank you, Sen. Mungatana.

[(Interruption of debate on Motion)]

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to welcome my County Delegation, led by the Governor. I am the most fortunate Senator to serve in this term and that my Governor is in the Gallery. Yesterday, we were debating the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill and I want to let them know that the Senate has added an additional of over Kshs1 billion to go and improv…

[(Resumption of debate on Motion)]

readiness of Eldoret becoming a city. The people of Uasin Gishu are eagerly waiting for the conferment of Eldoret as a city. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, when you went there during the Devolution Conference, you became aware that Eldoret is indeed ready to become the fifth city of this country. As it gets conferred to a city status, it should also be known that it is the fastest growing town and will…

I did not intend to cut you short, but this House decided earlier on to suspend the Sitting, so that we can discuss a matter of national importance. So, Sen. Munyi Mundigi, can you move your Motion?

Sen. Mundigi,

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The events of Sondu are saddening. Sen. Cherarkey started very well by saying that we need to talk about solutions and how this matter can be addressed. In September 2020, the governors of the Great Lakes Region Economic Bloc held a meeting and had a Peace Accord. These included governors from Nyanza, Western, Nandi, and South Rift. What we need to ask ourse…

On a point of order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

Asante sana, Mstahiki Spika wa Muda. Leo ni siku ya huzuni. Kama kuna siku ambayo tunafaa kuwa tumeungana tukijadili maneno ni leo. Kifo sio kitu cha kutaniana. Nimetoka Kirinyaga Kaunti ambapo nimezika watoto zaidi ya kumi na watano saa hii. Ni watoto ambao wamekuwa wakifanya kazi katika vyombo vya usalama kwa sababu ya michafuko. Hii ndio maana nasema kwamba huu ni kama mtego wa panya, unaingi…

Kimeru huko ndani na Kikuyu kwa umbali wakisema kwamba kila mahali watu wote ni wetu. Tunapoongea na kuzungumzia Taarifa hii, tujue ya kwamba tulicho nayo moyoni sasa kama mimi nikiwa ni kiongozi, kuna kiongozi wa sehemu ile pia aliye na chake cha kusema. Kwa hivyo, tukiongea tuchunge tusiongee maneno ambayo yanaweza kuchochea chuki zaidi na kuleta maafa mengi. Asante sana, Bw. Spika wa Muda.

Sen. Wambua.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I want to first begin by thanking Sen. Oketch Gicheru and Sen. Munyi Mundigi for bringing up this matter. The spirit in which they brought this matter, I would have expected that the spirit would carry the debate. The debate is bipartisan and it does not matter who is falling where. You just debate on this matter and find a solution. I will say only two things. One, d…

Thank you, Senator your time is up. Proceed, Tabitha Mutinda.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I appreciate the Mover and Seconder of the Motion that touches on two areas. One, is the developmental issue in Turkana County, since we had the privilege to be there. As the Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget, allow me to state that looking at the funds that have been disbursed over the years, it is quite sad. The county additi…

from both sides, an opportunity so that there are better long-term results for future generations. I urge the young MPs to desist from tribal talks. We have intermarriages---

Thank you, Senator. Proceed Sen. Ogola

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me the opportunity. As we debate, chest thump and utter words, there are people lying dead in Sondu. There are wives whose husbands are dead. Also, sons and children who are dead and their families are mourning. It is also worth taking note that these are people who have lived all their lives – unless at the time of these clashes – together. People…

On a Point of Order, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir.

What is your point of order, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Standing Orders are clear that a Member shall not impute improper motives to another. I understand her naivety and that she is a green horn. She is yet to comprehend the value of family. I also understand that she has never fought for anything nationally in this country. She has a constituency of only one voter. That does not give her the latitude to impute improper…

Order, Sen. Khalwale! I was with you until the point where you started talking ill of Sen. Ogola in terms of what she has done for this country. As far as the Standing Orders, Sen. Ogola, withdraw the statement on the excitement of Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale in regards to the deaths. That was out of order.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I did not incite. I talked of the general excitement I see around. This is an observation I am making which might not be factual.

Sen. Ogola, you were categorical that you did not understand the excitement of Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale. Withdraw the statement from the HANSARD.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I would like to repeat, that as we shout the words we are, there are people lying dead in Kisumu County. We mourn with them.

[(Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale spoke off record)]

Sen. Ogola, you have withdrawn the statement, but not apologised. Go ahead and apologise.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if the word “excitement” is offensive to anyone, then I apologise. However, it does not offend me. We were in Turkana County having a meeting of women Senators. The agenda of the meeting was on empowerment of leaders. However, three quarters of our meeting was on the issue of insecurity. This should concern us as Kenyans. I feel for the people of Turkana County in the s…

What is your point of order, Sen. Cherarkey?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, is it in order---

[(Interruption of debate on the Motion)]