National Assembly · Afternoon Sitting

Hon. Members, I have a short Communication on the Public Participation Programme on the Special Motion for the proposed removal from office, by impeachment, of His Excellency the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya. Further to the Communication issued yesterday on consideration of the Special Motion for the removal from office, by impeachment, of His Excellency, Hon. Rigathi Gachagua, as th…

Leader of the Majority Party. Hon. (Dr) Pukose, do you want to stand in for them?

Yes. Hon. Speaker. On behalf of the Leader of the Majority Party, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the House:

Thank you. Next is the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, Hon. Murugara. Your Report is on my desk. I have gone through it, and I have issues that I need to discuss with you.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I was informed to come and see you.

Excellent.

Hon. Members, there is a request for a statement by Hon. Peter Mbogho, the Member for Mwatate. Is he in the House? If not, Hon. Tindi Mwale, you may proceed.

Hon. 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 Administration and Internal Affairs regarding the recent rise of insecurity in Taita Taveta County and, particularly, Voi and Mwatate constituencies. The rise of insecurity in Taita Taveta County has negatively impacted not only the safety…

It is against this background that I request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs on the following:

Thank you, Hon. Mbogho. Hon. Owen Baya, inform Hon. Tongoyo to bring a response in two weeks.

Let me add something. Hon. Speaker. This is the fourth request for a statement on insecurity in Taita Taveta that I have heard. I remember Hon. Danson Mwashako and another Member raising the same issue. It does not seem to go away. I have heard them mention someone I know from Rong’e Ward. This idea of just bringing statements and stating facts the way they are, without looking for a solution to t…

The next Cabinet Secretary to appear before the House should be the one for Interior and National Administration. Be ready to confront him with questions including insecurity in Mwatate. In the meantime, the Member has chosen to come to the House for a response from the Committee. The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee will bring a response in two weeks. However, Hon. Mbogho, I will give yo…

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 Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations regarding the safety of Ms. Riziki Luvuno Mambo, holder of Passport No.AK1325501, who went missing in Saudi Arabia in March 2024. Ms. Riziki Luvuno Mambo has been residing in Saudi Arabia since J…

It is against this background that I request for a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations on the following:

Thank you, Hon. Rai. The Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations, Hon. Nelson.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I will get a response in two weeks.

Two weeks. Next Order. Hon. Oundo.

Hon. Speaker, can we get the attention of the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Health?

Hon. Pukose, Hon. (Dr) Oundo is craving for your attention.

Hon. Speaker, yesterday afternoon, I read a Statement from the Ministry of Health concerning the rollover from NHIF to this new animal called SHIF or SHA. Since yesterday - and I am sure many of our colleagues here will bear me witness - we have been inundated by so many calls from our constituents who are generally stranded in hospitals. In many hospitals, be they private or public, many patients…

[(Loud consultations)]

Thank you, Hon. Dr. Pukose.

Hon. (Dr) Pukose.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I want to thank Hon. (Dr) Oundo for being magnanimous enough to accept that we have been able to intervene and his patient will now be going home after the spinal surgery that was done at Kenyatta University, after we talked to the CEO who intervened. We were able to call Dr Dagane who is the Chief Executive Officer, Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital, and …

Thank you. Leader of the Majority Party, make your Thursday Statement.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (a) , I rise to give the following Statement on behalf of the House Business Committee, which met on Tuesday, 1st October 2024, to prioritise business for consideration during the week. Hon. Speaker, as you are aware, this morning, the House resolved to suspend its Sitting of Thursday, 3rd October 2024, so as t…

House, it is expected that during the afternoon Sitting, the House will sit until the conclusion of the debate on the Special Motion. In view of the foregoing, I urge Members to be present and actively participate in this vital constitutional process. Your insights and contributions are critical and, together, we can ensure that our deliberations reflect the collective wisdom, values and aspirati…

Thank you, Hon. Owen Baya. Hon. Members, we will now go to Questions.

Hon. Aden Bare Duale, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, is already in the House. Welcome, Waziri. We will now go to Questions. In the interest of time, try to be as precise and concise as you can. Members, I will only allow one joyrider on each Question, and not more than that. We will start with the Member for Alego Usonga, Hon. Samuel Atandi. You look surprised,…

No, I am not surprised. I am aware that the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry is supposed to come.

He is already here and so, go ahead and ask your Question if you are ready. Or we move to the next?

Hon. Speaker, let me get the Question. In the meantime, you can go to the next Question. I do not have the Question ready.

Question No.105/2024, Member for Chepalungu, Hon. Victor Koech Mandazi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I have the Question.

[(Hon. Victor Koech entered the Chamber without bowing)]

Hon. Koech, go back to the Bar, bow and come back.

[(Hon. Victor Koech retreated to the Bar and bowed to the Chair)]

Hon. Speaker, I am ready.

Go ahead, Hon. Atandi.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I beg to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry the following Question: Could the Cabinet Secretary—

Cabinet Secretary. The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry : Thank you, Hon. Speaker. It is a privilege to come back to this House, which is my second home; a House that I have a lot of respect for and Members that I have a lot of regard for. Hon. Atandi asked a number of questions. In the interest of time, my Ministry and the agencies that are under me like NEMA, are …

[(Hon. Aden Duale)]

reviewed the report and found it adequately addressed all the potential environmental impacts, supported by a detailed environmental and social management plan. The Nairobi City County Government approved the same development plan and then NEMA issued the environmental impact Licence No.NEMA/EIA/PSL/8261 on 7th July 2020, with conditions of sustainable development and sound environmental managemen…

[[The Speaker (Hon. Moses Wetang’ula) left the Chair] [The Deputy Speaker (Hon. Gladys Boss) took the Chair]]

continued, despite several petitions by some of the concerned residents. I am, indeed, aware that they have lodged petitions with NEMA and other Government bodies. Residents were also advised to appeal for a tribunal independent evaluation on NEMA. This House, in its mandate in making laws and regulations, has given the citizens recourse to appeal. If you are not happy with NEMA’s decision, then y…

Thank you. We will give an opportunity to one joyrider. Hon. Gitonga Murugara, Member for Tharaka. You are on the intervention button. Hon. Zamzam has pulled out her card. I wanted to give an opportunity to one joyrider and then Hon. Atandi to respond. However, we can go directly to him, if Members do not want to contribute. Proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. The Cabinet Secretary’s response appears satisfactory. Given that he is also new, I do not want to put him under a lot of pressure. The only observation that I have made, based on his response, is that it appears that these matters will be dealt more by Nairobi City County Government. It is the one that should take a lot of blame on this matter. The initial concern …

Thank you. We can go to the next Question. Hon. Ruku, the time to discuss this Question is up. Member for Chepalungu, ask Question 105/2024. Question 105/2024

Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry the following Question: Could the Cabinet Secretary-

Cabinet Secretary, you may proceed. The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry : Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. If you allow me because Hon. Atandi raised a question on it, the Constitution and the people of Kenya in their wisdom have allowed separation of powers between the two levels of government. Zoning, waste management and pollution, whether it is air or sound, is a…

[(Hon. Aden Duale)]

Before I allow one interjection, and then the owner of the Question to confirm whether he is satisfied with the answer by the Cabinet Secretary or not, allow me first to welcome very special guests who are seated in the Speaker's Gallery from Kisii County. Mr. Moenga Onchweri, Mrs. Moenga, Wakili Wickliffe Moenga, and Ms. Claire Ombati. I will allow Hon. Silvanus Osoro to welcome them on behalf o…

[(Several Members spoke off the record)]

Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I had to make this very special request, which is again unprecedented in this House, to welcome very special guests to me. Mr. Moenga Onchweri picked me from the streets and took me to school upon the demise of my parents.

[(Applause)]

Okay. Thank you. Yes, Hon. Donya Dorice, I will give you three minutes.

Hon. Deputy Speaker, this is the beauty of good Samaritans. I am always talkative but, when I look at them, I am very humbled. I have eaten a lot of vegetables because parents and good Samaritans are the best thing that God can

give. We can even attest that it was like Hon. Osoro was reading a Bible. He was so calm because the parents are present. This is what parents have done to us. Today, we cannot even “Gachagualise” anybody. We are just good. We are very obedient and please, Hon. Members, M-PESA your parents. Parents believe girls give them food and send them M-PESA unlike boys. Let us change that. Male Members who …

[(Laughter)]

Okay. Thank you for the digression. I think we can proceed. I will give the floor to one Hon. Member to ask an additional question. Let us have Hon. Zamzam, the Member for Mombasa County. We will then go back to the Member for Chepalungu to confirm if he is satisfied with the answer.

Ahsante sana Mhe. Naibu

Ahsante. Before I allow the Cabinet Secretary to respond to her brief question, let me allow the Member for Chepalungu. Hon. Mugambi, the Hon. Speaker has already ruled on that we will have only one joyrider’s question and go back to the owner of the question.

It is okay. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. While I appreciate the response from the Cabinet Secretary, I would like to make him aware that it is also nice for him and his team to visit the particular villages I have talked about. I am the area Member of Parliament and I know what happens. In one occasion, I attended a funeral at a village called Kobolwo. It was raining at Sigor town but upon rea…

signs of rain from the particular villages that I have mentioned, somebody who does irrigation farming in a neighbouring village – the presumed owner of the particular companies – would come out and shoot at the cloud. To use his local words, he told me that the person I have referred to would normally come out and shoot the clouds, and in the next moment, there would be no rain in the particular…

Thank you. Hon. Cabinet Secretary, do you have a rejoinder? The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry : Thank you Hon. Deputy Speaker. Chepalungu is a very great constituency which was led by a great man called Hon. Isaac Ruto, for whom I have a lot of respect. Please, give me your phone number before I heave Parliament. I want to assure you that when you are ready, the …

[(Hon. Aden Duale)]

Thank you. Hon. Members, let us move to Question No.106/2024 by Hon. Timothy Wanyonyi, Member for Westlands.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I want to congratulate the Cabinet Secretary for his new assignment in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry. The ministries responsible for environment the world over are very important. Everybody is now talking about climate change and how we can rescue our planet. I am sure that Hon. Duale is up to the task. We know that he has passion for anything h…

Cabinet Secretary, you may proceed. The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry : Hon. Deputy Speaker, before Hon. Zamzam walks out, there is a question that she asked on coconut trees. I had forgotten to respond to it. I confirm that I am here with the CEO of the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) and the Kenya Agricultural and Research Organization (KALRO) , wh…

[(Hon. Aden Duale)]

an arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) area. It has seen its water level drop drastically due to excessive irrigation in the upstream areas. Similarly, Athi-River is heavily tapped for irrigation and industrial use, contributing to what the Hon. Member is calling reduced flow downstream. Encroachment and human activity within the riparian areas is another factor that has reduced the flow of our river…

[[The Deputy Speaker (Hon. Gladys Boss) left the Chair] [The Temporary Speaker (Hon. Farah Maalim) took the chair]]

In a month’s time, we will add another 10,000 youths to the programme. Nairobi will have 20,000 young people doing that job. We will then go to other five cities. By December, 139,000 young people in all our 47 counties and constituencies will be engaged. We have no choice but to accept the fact that climate change is real and, therefore, we must have clear policies for climate mitigation and adap…

I will give the first bite to Hon. John Kiarie and then go back to Hon. Timothy Wanyonyi. Proceed.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Allow me to start by saying that we are happy to have Waziri Aden Duale in the House. We get a sense of deja vu when we hear his voice come through the public address system. We feel like he is seated right there as the Leader of the Majority Party – one of the better performing Leaders of the Majority Party in the history of the National Assembly. Being a forme…

Gichuru all the way from Waiyaki Way to Dagoretti Corner, which we shared when we were growing up, used to have a canopy of trees on both sides. During the Jacaranda tree bloom season, there would be a beautiful boulevard with purple flowers along that road. When a road gets a tree canopy, it stops being a road and becomes a boulevard.

Hon. KJ it is Question time. The Chair has given you some leeway to build on your question. Therefore, go ahead and ask the question.

Hon. Temporary Speaker, I am obliged. What is the state of implementation of the Motion on tree planting along roadsides and road reserves in this Republic, which was passed by this House? Thank you.

Fair enough. Hon. Tim Wanyonyi, ask your follow-up question and then the Cabinet Secretary will answer them together. Proceed, Hon. Wanyonyi Tim. Give him the microphone, please.

Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. First, I want to appreciate the answer that the Cabinet Secretary has given. It is very elaborate. I know he means the things he has said, especially on Nairobi River that is so polluted. We, as the leadership of Nairobi, look forward to joining hands with you to work towards reclaiming these rivers. Nairobi River never dries up. Its water flows throughout the ye…

[(Hon. Aden Duale)]

Hon. Tim, I am happy that as a ranking Member of Nairobi Members of Parliament, you, Hon. KJ and Hon. Beatrice Elachi have stood firm and gone on record that you will stand with us. The Nairobi River Commission was not under my Ministry but now it is. You have stood with the multi-agency team, the President and all of us. Please, help us clean the Nairobi River. I will talk more about this when an…

Very well. Let us proceed to the Question by the Member for Nakuru, Hon. Liza Chelule. Question 107/2024

Caroli Omondi was on this matter and had a balance of six minutes, but I do not see him in the House. Too, I do not see any interest from any Member here to contribute on the Second Reading of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Bill. Let the Mover reply.

Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I wish to reply. I thank the Members who contributed to the proposed amendment to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act. We went through what the Bill entails. It is a very short Bill with only two proposed amendments. Although it is a National Dialogue Committee Bill (NADCO) Bill, the Committee carried the first proposed amendment and proposed…

We ordinarily would have put the Question. We defer it to another appropriate time, which will be communicated.

[(Putting of the question deferred)]

Where is the Chairperson? He is not in the House? That one is also deferred to another day. That Bill is deferred to another day.

That one is also deferred to another date Next Order.

[(conclusion of the Second Reading)]

The Hon. Leader of the Majority Party is supposed to move this; is he not in? I also defer this one to another date.

(National Assembly Bill No.2 of 2023) THAT, the Senate amendments to the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 2 of 2023) be now considered.

Do we have the Chairperson of the Committee on Delegated Legislation? We do not have him in the House, and I direct that this be deferred to another date. Next Order

I realise this has been debated and has to be deferred. The debate was supposed to be resumed; there was a balance of two hours and 12 minutes, but it is not fair to move because the debate has not been concluded. Under the circumstances, the Chair defers this to another date.

(Motion deferred) Next Order.

Since the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives is not here, I direct this matter to be deferred to another date. Next Order.

This also has to be moved by the Chairperson of the Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity, but I do not think he is in the House. I direct this to also be placed on the Order Paper at an appropriate date in the future. Next order.

I also direct that this matter be placed on the Order Paper at another appropriate date because I do not see any Member of the Pan African Parliament in the Chambers to move this, so it is also deferred.

Next Order.

Since the Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and National Planning is also not in the House, I direct that this matter be placed on the Order Paper at an appropriate date in the future. Next Order.

[(Putting of the Question deferred)]

I notice that the Chairperson of the Public Investment Committee on Governance and Education is also not in the House. I direct that this matter be put on the Order Paper at an appropriate date. Next Order.

Equally, I do not see the Chairperson, Procedure and House Rules Committee, or somebody whom the Chairperson delegated under these circumstances to move this Bill. I direct that this Bill on Order No. 19 be placed on the Order Paper at an appropriate future date. Next Order.

This is the third report of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture on the Report of the Auditor General. Under this circumstance, I have not seen the Chairperson to move this Motion. Therefore, I direct that this also be placed on the Order Paper at an appropriate date.