Senate · Afternoon Sitting

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly, ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes. Hon. Senators; we now have quorum. Clerk, you may proceed to call the First Order, please.

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

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

Hon. Senators, as you may recall, at the Sitting of the Senate held on Thursday, 8th May, 2025, the Temporary Speaker, Sen. Veronica Maina, MP, directed Sen. Samson Cherarkey, MP, to substantiate utterances made in the course of his contribution to the Motion on the consolidation of bursary funds for equitable access to education in Kenya. The direction was as a result of a point of order by nomi…

“ (1) A Senator shall be responsible for the accuracy of any facts that the Senator alleges to be true and may be required to substantiate any such facts instantly.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise under Standing Order No.1. Since our office was closed yesterday up to today morning, I did not access my documentation. Would it be in order that I am given seven days? You know I was incapacitated since I could not access my office up to today morning. I know that it is through a judicial notice that that happened and the Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Nyegenye, is aware that…

You have not given any correlation between what you are supposed to substantiate and what is contained in your office. Your office being closed does not in any way relate to this matter. Are you saying that the evidence is locked inside there?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with your indulgence, with a lot of tremendous respect, it is true because I work from the office that you have assigned us. I do not walk around with my documents because I can be hijacked and documents can disappear. So, they are still locked in the office. I will need your guidance. I do not see why the Parliamentary Service Commissioner is agitated yet he is the one who lock…

[(Laughter)]

Order, Sen. Cherarkey! Sen. Omogeni, you need not respond to that at this juncture. Indeed, that matter had been brought to my attention, the fact that Senators who occupy offices at KICC have been locked out and the reason that was given was failure by Parliament to pay rent on time. Hon. Senators, this is not a light matter. It cannot be that a Senator is unable to discharge his or her duties o…

[(Applause)]

[(Applause)]

[(Applause)]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am seeking your indulgence under Standing Order No.1 because you have made a statement that is really very pregnant; the issue of the mistreatment of the Senate by PSC and by extension, the National Assembly. I am asking if it is possible to give Senators just a minute or two to ventilate on that matter.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is a public participation exercise being carried out by the National Assembly which touches on the functions of the Senate without the involvement of the Senate. The mistreatment of this House by the ‘lower’ House is one that we must speak about very openly and very candidly. Kindly allow a few Senators to comment on this serious issue and then we can continue with the bus…

Hon. Senators, as a House, you need to be very strategic. Ventilating, commenting and raising concerns is one thing; getting these frustrations into action is a different thing altogether. That is why we will have a closed- door meeting on Thursday from 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. to craft the strategy.

[(Applause)]

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No. 53 (1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on Health on a matter of national concern, namely, the prevalence of cholera and measures being undertaken to curb its spread across the country. In the Statement, the Committee should address the following-

Proceed, Sen. Gloria Orwoba.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing on a matter of national concern, namely, the safety of passengers in Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) across the country. PSVs are an essential component of Kenya's transport system, relied upon daily by millions of citizens. However, increasing cases of…

In this Statement, the Committee should address the following-

Sen. Ali Roba is out of the country. Is there any Senator holding his brief? Sen. Eddy, do you have any instructions to hold his brief? We will defer this Statement for lack of written instructions.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

[(Sen. Orwoba spoke off record)]

Order, Sen. Orwoba! Please, do not try the patience of the Chair. Sen. Ojienda, you may want to move your mouth closer to the microphone.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on National Security, Defense and Foreign Relations on a matter of inter-county regarding the construction of dykes along Sondu Miriu River by the National Youth Service (NYS) under the Ministry of Interior and National Administration. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Sondu Miriu River forms the boundar…

Proceed, Sen. John Methu.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget on a matter of national concern regarding the allocation and utilisation of public funds amounting to Kshs1.3 billion disbursed from the national Government budget in the Financial Year 2022/2023 for the expansion of the Dandora Wastewater Treatme…

Hon. Senators, before I allow statements pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) , allow me to make this communication. I would like to acknowledge the presence in the Public Gallery this afternoon of visiting teachers and students from St. Hannah’s Girls School in Nairobi County. The delegation comprises two teachers and 30 students who are in the Senate for a one-day academic exposition. In our u…

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of this House and the people of Nairobi to welcome our children who have visited us this afternoon. I hope you have the opportunity to interact with members of staff of the Senate, the Senators who are present here and to follow the debate. You came on an afternoon which is a bit animated. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I thank you f…

[(Resumption of debate on Statement)]

We now move to statements pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) (b) .The Chairperson Standing Committee on Information, Communication and Technology. Well, that statement is dropped.

Proceed, the Chairperson Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights (JLAHRC).

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) (b) of the Senate Standing Orders to make a statement relating to the activities of the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights for the period commencing 1st January, 2025 to date. During the period under review, the Committee held a total of 17 sittings during which it considered two legislat…

[(Loud consultations)]

Order, hon. Senators! May the Chair JLAHRC be heard in silence, please.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The last one among the Bills is the County Governments Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, (Senate Bills No.2 of 2024) . Currently, the Committee has one Bill pending before it, namely, the County Governments State Officers’ Removal from Office Procedure Bill (Senate Bills No.34 of 2024) . It is in the process of finalising its consideration. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Commit…

regard that it has made arrangements for engagement with the respective Senators, stakeholders and where necessary conduct site/county visits to ascertain the situation on the ground. Mr. Speaker, Sir, two new statements during the period under review were sought by Sen. (Prof.) Tom Ojienda, SC, MP and Sen. Raphael Chimera. Both touched on the affairs of the Judiciary. In order to expedite consid…

Section 103(3) of the Elections Act, the election regulations formulated by the IEBC from time to time are submitted to and approved by the National Assembly to the exclusion of the Senate, even where the subject of the regulations is clearly a county government matter. This amendment to replace the word ‘Parliament’ with the word ‘National Assembly’ was passed in the year 2012 before the Senate …

Chairperson of the Committee on Information, Communication and Technology, your statement has been reinstated. You may now proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No. 56 (1((b) of the Senate Standing Orders to make a Statement relating to the activities of the Standing Committee on Information, Communication and Technology for the period commencing 1st January, 2025 to date. Mr. Speaker, Sir, during the period under review, the Committee held a total of nine sittings, during which it considered one Bill, …

[(Loud consultations)]

Order, Hon. Senators! Let us hear the Chairperson of the Committee on Information, Communication and Technology in silence.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. In considering the said statements, the Committee considered the statements through physical sittings with the stakeholders and the respective Senators who made the requests, while in other instances admitted written submissions and shared responses with respective Senators. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Statement sought by Sen. Hamida Kibwana, MP, on the sale of Telkom Kenya…

The Committee is currently following up on several responses from the Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy, the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK), Safaricom Ltd., and the Media Council of Kenya (MCK). The Committee is conducting inquiries into critical telecommunication infrastructure in the country and the operations of Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) as well as ot…

The Chairperson, Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) (b) of the Senate Standing Orders to make a statement regarding the activities of the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources during the period February to April 2025. The Standing Committee on Land, Environment, and Natural Resources is established under Standing Order No.228 (3) of the Senate Standing…

invitations to appear before the Committee. These invitations were to address pending legislative business, including 27 statements and seven petitions. This has slowed the Committee's output. Consequently, the Committee has resolved to summon the Cabinet Secretary to appear before it, initially on 8th May, 2025 and now on 14th May, 2025, to address the aforementioned matters. In addition, writt…

During the period under review, 13 Statements were considered and dispatched to the relevant Senators. A detailed analysis is annexed. Given the large number of statements before the Committee, a more comprehensive updated tracker is available, providing their status. In conclusion, I wish to thank the Office of the Speaker and the Office of the Clerk of the Senate for their continuous support ac…

Chairperson, Standing Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity. Sen. Abass, is this your Committee?

[(Sen. Abass walked to the Dispatch Box)]

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am reading on behalf of Sen. Chute.

Who is the Chair?

I am reading on behalf of Sen. Chute.

Sen. Abass, certainly, this is not your Committee. I am surprised you are so willing to walk to the Table. Proceed, Sen. Betty Montet.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) (b) of the Senate Standing Orders to make a statement relating to the activities of the Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration for the period of January to April 2025. During the period under review, the Committee held 19 sittings, during which it considered various legislative bu…

The Committee held 17 sittings. During which, 13 stakeholders appeared before it. The Committee will table a comprehensive report at the end of the inquiry. Moving on, the Committee undertook county visits to Homa Bay and Busia counties from 28th to 30th April, 2025, where it assessed the level of inclusion and representation of the workforce in terms of gender, youth, Persons with Disabilities (…

Next is the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No.56 (1) (b) of the Senate Standing Orders, I rise to make a statement relating to activities of the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations for the period of February 2025 to April 2025. The Committee was reconstituted on Wednesday, 12th February, 2025, and Wednesday, 19th February, 2025 during the period under referenc…

Concerning statements, there were 29 statements. The Committee considered and concluded seven while 22 statements are ongoing. A list of the statements is attached as Annex 3. On Petitions, the Committee is currently considering a Petition concerning compensation of police officers injured in the line of duty. That Petition was redirected from the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare. …

Hon. Members, before I allow comments on the statements that have been sought, let us move to dispense with Order No.9. Therefore, I seek to rearrange today’s Order Paper, pursuant to Standing Order No.45 (2) . Let us dispense with Order No.9, then we will resume normal flow as contained in today’s Order Paper. Clerk, proceed to call out that Order.

Clerk, do we have the requisite quorum? Hon. Senators, this is a matter that does not concern counties. Therefore, voting shall be by voice. I will, therefore, proceed to put the question.

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

[(Question put and agreed to)]

[(Interruption of debate on Statements)]

Hon. Members, Order No.9 had previously been called out and a vote was carried. I therefore direct that the next Order be called out again. Sorry, for purposes of the convenience of this House, I will defer Order Nos. 10, 11 and 12 because these Bills are for division and we do not have the numbers for that.

Clerk, call Order No. 13.