National Assembly · Afternoon Sitting
Tuesday, 4 March 2025
Members debated the NADCO Report’s recommendations, focusing on how to implement the two‑thirds gender rule—favoring a top‑up via party lists—and critiquing proposals that could replicate the failed BBI. Hon. Caroli Omondi and others called for reforms to the Political Parties Act to prevent party‑driven removal of elected MPs and advocated a cross‑bench for independents, while procedural disputes over floor‑crossing were highlighted. The discussion combined constructive suggestions with sharp criticism of perceived illegalities and procedural breaches. Members raised concerns over the constitutional right to peaceful picketing and urged the House to act on citizen petitions. Several MPs requested statements on critical service delivery issues, including vacant chief positions in Nyaribari Masaba, delayed approval of junior secondary schools in Isiolo, and unmet teacher salary enhancements in Nyamira. The Deputy and Temporary Speakers managed procedural motions while acknowledging the pending matters. The sitting opened with Hon. Osoro welcoming university students and urging them to pursue their studies, followed by a brief point‑of‑order and expressions of sympathy for a colleague’s interment. The bulk of the debate focused on the delayed hardship‑allowance report, with Hon. Okello criticizing the government’s inaction and urging the House to compel its release and gazettement. The tone shifted from cordial encouragement to frustrated calls for accountability.
Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:
Before we go to the next Order, allow me to recognise the following schools seated in the Public Gallery:
Thank you very much Hon. Deputy Speaker. On behalf of Mheshimiwa Mawathe, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the students from Embakasi South Constituency. My advice to you as our children is that education is the key to success. The roots of education are bitter but the fruits are sweeter. Boys and girls, when in school, right now, focus on books and pens. If you must kiss a man, ki…
[(Applause)]
Thank you. Next Order.
On a point of order.
What is your point of order, Hon. Muhia? Give Hon. Muhia the microphone.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, I stand under Standing Order 31. How can Parliament continue with normal business while doctors are protesting outside here and patients are alone in the hospitals with no one to attend to them? This strike has been going on for the last four months. I request the House to adjourn and discuss the important matter of the doctors' and nurses' strike at 5.00 p.m.
This is a matter of national importance and you should have brought it in writing as an Adjournment Motion before we started the Sitting. A written request for the adjournment was needed, which I would have approved to allow you to address it later today. Now it is too late for that. Yes, Hon. Baya. Then we will have Hon. Osoro.
Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The Hon. Member, having shifted from her usual desk to the other side of the aisle, has been in this Parliament for a long time. She knows very well that there is a procedure for adjournment. We ask her to follow that procedure. Some things are happening in the country that we are not happy about. The people of Kipipiri elected you to use parliamentary procedures to…
That is exactly what I have communicated to her, just in less harsh terms. Yes, Hon. Muhia.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, is the Member in order to say that I am not acting in a civilised manner when the people of Kipipiri are watching? As I was walking to Parliament today, I found doctors and nurses at the main gate. This is obviously a matter of national importance. I will seek your guidance to urgently bring the Adjournment Motion tomorrow.
Thank you. Please bring it tomorrow. Hon. Osoro.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, it is, indeed, true, as Hon. Muhia has said, that doctors are gathered outside. It is within the right of every Kenyan under Article 119 of the Constitution to petition the National Assembly on any matter of national importance. From the information I have, the doctors have already submitted a petition to this House. It will be tabled before the relevant Committee and follow …
On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.
Yes, Hon. Member. Please proceed.
Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I wish to support my colleague’s sentiments. As we were entering Parliament, we encountered doctors and other
health workers protesting. They have been on strike for the past four months. As the representatives of Kenyans, we must acknowledge this as a matter of national interest. Many patients are in hospitals and are suffering and at risk of losing their lives. We should not rigidly adhere to procedures when people are dying in hospitals. This Parliament must be seen as serious and committed to the inte…
[(Loud consultations)]
Hon. Member, we hear you. I have not dismissed this as a matter of national importance. In fact, I have acknowledged that it is. That is why I have advised that Hon. Muhia bring a substantive Motion to the House tomorrow morning, which I will approve. It will allow her and the rest of the House to ventilate on it properly and in an orderly fashion. We must address this issue properly to find solut…
So, we should just wait and let more people die while we follow procedures?
[(Loud consultations.)]
On a point of order, Hon. Deputy Speaker.
Hon. Chepkong’a, what is your point of order?
Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I rise under Standing Order 83 to remind this House that the right to picket is enshrined in Article 37 of the Constitution. There is nothing wrong with people peacefully picketing outside Parliament. Their presence here is to invoke Article 95, which mandates Members of Parliament to resolve issues that are of concern to the people. When citizens bring petitions, w…
I believe we are all in agreement on this matter. Let us not flog a dead horse. We have agreed on the way forward. Now, let us move to the next Order. What is coming up? Questions and Statements?
Alright. I have a list here. Hon. Daniel Manduku, Member for Nyaribari Masaba.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs regarding the filling of vacant positions of chiefs and assistant chiefs in Nyaribari Masaba Constituency. Chiefs and assistant chiefs are pivotal in maintaining law and order at the grassroots le…
That matter will be addressed by the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs. Let us proceed to the next request for statement by Hon. Mumina Bonaya, Member of Parliament for Isiolo County.
Hon. Deputy Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education regarding the approval of junior secondary schools in Isiolo County. The transition to Grade 9 in most parts of the country has been fairly smooth and seamless due to the concerted efforts in infrastructure development by …
Thank you. That will be marked to the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education for attention. Now, we get to Hon. Stephen Mogaka, Member for West Mugirango.
[[The Deputy Speaker (Hon. Gladys Boss) left the Chair] [The Temporary Speaker (Hon. Farah Maalim) took the Chair]]
Hon. Temporary Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I wish to request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education regarding the status of salary enhancement for teachers in Nyamira Municipality. In 2021, the Teachers Service Commission signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) setting out the terms and conditions of service fo…
Hon. Temporary Speaker, not Hon. Deputy Speaker.
I apologise for having failed to notice the change of Chair, Hon. Temporary Speaker.
The Chairperson of the Departmental
Hon. Temporary Speaker, the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education, as well as so many other committee chairpersons, are out of town.
As the Majority Chief Whip, you will take responsibility for them.
I commit to give a response in 21 days, Hon. Temporary Speaker.
No way. Hon. Mogaka, he says he will give a response in 21 days. I thought that is too long. Hon. Osoro, this is not a matter between two Kisii Members of Parliament. I direct that you give a response within two weeks.
Much obliged, Hon. Temporary
Hon. Mogaka, that is a presumption. You cannot anticipate recess before the Motion of Adjournment for recess is moved. It is fair. You are right that the Calendar of the House is there. Please give the Whip of the Majority Party, Hon. Osoro, the microphone.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am privileged to sit in the House Business Committee, and I am privy to the Calendar of the House. In two weeks, we will be out for a short recess. So, I was being practical that he will get the answer in three weeks. To satisfy him, let me just say two weeks, but practically, we will not be in the House during that time.
Hon. Mogaka, how urgent is this matter?
When it comes to the remuneration of teachers, nothing could be more urgent. I pray that you direct that the answer be given within seven days. We have a very hardworking Cabinet Secretary.
I direct that the Ministerial Statement be given next week, one week from today.
Most obliged.
Hon. Madam Lydia Haika is seeking a Ministerial Statement from the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. Proceed.
Hon. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning regarding the payment of retirement dues and pension for retired teachers. Retirement benefits are fundamental rights for public officers, which ensure they have financial stability in their later years, as pr…
The Whip of the Majority Party, I have noticed that the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning is not here.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, most of our colleagues are out of town, representing all of us at the burial of our colleague, the late Hon. Malulu Injendi. I will pass the message to Hon. Kuria Kimani and ensure that the answer is provided within a week.
Fair enough. Hon. Geoffrey Ruku, Member for Mbeere North.
Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. It is worth noting that this is the second time I am requesting for this statement. This means that the Ministry of Health is not serious at all and that is why we are facing all those challenges in the implementation of the Social Health Authority (SHA) . Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (c) , I rise to request for a statement from the Chairp…
Superannuation Scheme offer last expense and death gratuity to their beneficiaries in the occurrence of death. Regrettably, the family of the late Moses Muturi Ndwiga, P/F No. 2009000918, who succumbed to COVID-19 while serving as an Acting Director in the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, Nyeri County, is yet to be paid the last expense and death gratuity. This case …
Is it Hon. Osoro or Hon. Baya? Who is going to respond to this? Order, Hon. Osoro. Now that we have the Deputy Leader of the Majority Party, is this matter still in the purview of the Whip of the Majority Party?
[(Hon. Silvanus Osoro spoke off the record)]
On this particular matter, without really letting the cat out of the bag, I do not want to disappoint Hon. Ruku but the Departmental
Fair enough. You have said that the answer will be available in two weeks’ time. The presumption is that you will have it by the end of next week. We will not have gone for recess yet.
I want to be very practical. With the reconstitution of the Committee, it means that they have to conduct elections within seven days. If the names will be tabled on Wednesday or Thursday, we will give them seven days to conduct elections of the chairperson and vice-chairperson. Setting their agendas and such things will require three weeks because there is also a session. We do not want to lie to…
Departmental Committee on Health as we speak. It is part of the committees that will be reconstituted by Thursday, and then they will proceed for elections within seven days. The request for statement is directed to the Chairperson of the Committee.
Yes, Hon. Ruku.
Hon. Temporary Speaker, as I have mentioned, this is not a new request for statement. I have not changed even the wordings. Therefore, it means the bureaucrats at the Ministry of Health have full information of the matter. Probably, you should give direction to the Clerk of the National Assembly to direct the Ministry of Health on what is required of them. As soon as the committee is constituted,…
Yes, Hon. Baya.
I appreciate Hon. Ruku's frustration. I commit that in two weeks’ time, he will have a statement that answers the questions that he has raised. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker.
Yes, Member for Kajiado North.
Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. The issues that are in the four requests for statement, including the one on security, are cross-cutting. The Office of the Leader of the Majority Party has failed to provide responses from the Cabinet Secretaries. He should have summoned them to appear before the House to respond to the issues. We should put the specific Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secreta…
Fair enough. I direct that the statement be delivered within two weeks, which means next week.
I am much obliged, Hon. Temporary Speaker. However, I would like Hon. Ngogoyo to appreciate that Cabinet Secretaries will only come to the House if there are Questions to be responded to, but not requests for statements. What Hon. Ruku has presented is a request for a statement, which gets to this House through a certain process and procedure. Hon. Ngogoyo is a new Member who has refused to learn …
we transact business without going back and forth. You owe this House the duty of care so that we move forward, instead of raising issues and feigning ignorance of the Standing Orders. Please, we want to move forward. Ignorance does not help you on the ground or in this House. It makes you look very bad by your people, knowing that you know nothing about the proceedings of this House.
[(Laughter)]
Order, Deputy Leader of the Majority Party! The Member for Kisii County, Hon. Dorice Donya, is seeking a statement from the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure.
Hon. Members, the time being 6.36