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. Therefore, we shall proceed with the business of the afternoon. Clerk, proceed to call the First Order.

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

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

Hon. Senators, I would like to acknowledge the presence, in the Speaker’s Gallery this afternoon of a visiting delegation from the County Assembly of Kilifi comprising members of the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and

its secretariat. The delegation is undertaking a benchmarking visit with their counterparts in the Senate. I request each member of the delegation to stand when called out so that you may be acknowledged in the Senate tradition.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for according me the opportunity to welcome the visiting delegation from Kilifi County. Kilifi County is the county that has given this Senate the Speaker of the House and the Senate Minority Leader. We appreciate your visit and it is my hope and prayer that your visit shall be fruitful; that you shall gain whatever it is that you are coming to benchmark or study and …

[(Applause)]

Hon. Senators, I hereby report to the Senate that a Petition has been sent by Nayan Salva concerning the Victim Rights Charter. As you are aware under Article 119 (1) of the Constitution: “Every person has a right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority including enacting, amending or repealing any legislation.” Hon. Senators, the salient issues raised in the said Peti…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of that Petition and I would like to say two things. It is very sad that there are people in this country who have been collecting salaries for the last eight years. As per that Petition; they have not been doing any work and yet they have been drawing salaries from the Government coffers. It is a very deplorable situation and I would like to congratulate the p…

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I reiterate what Sen. Mungatana, MGH, has said. If people are paid and assumed to be working, yet nothing happens, then under those circumstances, I do not know what to do other than get the Speaker of the National Assembly to figure it out and come up with an audit, so that we can follow up on such issues. I also support this Petition and hope it will come with better results t…

Thank You, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the Petition. It is extremely saddening to learn that there are civil servants in this country who can withdraw salaries for more than eight years without their work well cut out. The issue of incorporations of boards is not only limited to the Human Rights Board we are discussing in this Petition. There are quite a number of institutions that are op…

The person responsible for ensuring that this Board should have been in place, needs to be sanctioned and reprimanded for making this country lose for paying salaries without work being done. I beg to support this Petition.

Sen. Mumma, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to contribute. I support the Petition. The Victim Protection Board is provided for under the Constitution. The law to effect Victim Protection Board was put in place way back in the year 2014. The Petitioner is absolutely correct. I suggest that the matter be placed before the Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee (JLAC) . It …

[(Sen. Madzayo, walked into the Chamber)]

Sen. Madzayo, kindly, have your seat. Hon. Senators, there being no other Senator wishing to contribute to this Petition, Pursuant to Standing Order 238 (1) , the Petition is hereby committed to the Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights for its consideration. In terms of Standing Order No. 238 (2) , the Committee is required in not more than 60 calendar days, from the time…

Senate Majority Whip, kindly proceed to lay the Papers and thereafter, the Chairperson, Standing Committee on Education to lay his Paper.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate, ttoday, 3rd May, 2023- Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of the Homa Bay County Executive Car Loan and Mortgage (Members) Scheme Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2022.

Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of the Homa Bay County Alcoholics Control Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2022. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of the Municipality of Homa Bay County Emergency Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2022. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of County Revenue Fund of the County Government of Hom…

Report of the Auditor General on the Financial Statement of the Baringo County Co-operative Development Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2022. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of the Baringo County Micro and Small Enterprises Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2022. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of the Baringo County Lake Bogoria Community Gra…

Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of the Isiolo County Education Bursary Fund for the year ended 30th June, 2022. Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statement of the County Revenue Fund – County Government of Machakos for the year ended 30th June, 2022. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I lay the said Papers. (Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale laid the documents on the Table)

Chairperson, Standing Committee on Education or any Member from that Standing Committee, to proceed and lay the Paper. Do we have any Member from the Standing Committee on Education? Sen. Kavindu Muthama, kindly, proceed to lay the Paper on behalf of your Committee.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Chairperson of the Committee, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate, today 3rd May,

Next Order.

The next Statement is pursuant to Standing Order No. 53 (1) . Sen. Olekina is not present. Therefore, this Statement is dropped.

[(Statement dropped)]

Proceed, Sen. Kibwana.

Asante, Bw. Spika. Sen. Kibwana alinieleza nimshikie brief. I do not know how to explain that.

[(Laughter)]

Sen. Kibwana aliniomba nimwakilishe kwa sababu hatakuwa katika Kikao hiki. Nataka kutoa taarifa kuwa Sen. Kibwana hataweza kuendelea na kauli yake. Bw. Spika pia nataka kuomba ruhusa kwa heshima na taadhima katika upeo wa kuketi wa Bunge la Seneti, kunao waheshimiwa wa Bunge la Kaunti ya Kilifi pamoja na baadhi ya wafanyikazi wa Kaunti ile. Kwa sababu nilikuwa nimechelewa naomba unipe dakika moja …

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

Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, what is your point of order? Before you proceed to make your point, I had granted the Senate Minority Leader one minute. Immediately he is done with holding brief on behalf of Sen. Kibwana, he should utilize one minute to welcome the delegation from his home county. I have given him that latitude for one minute.

Asante, Bw. Spika. Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale ni mpiganaji wa ng’ombe lakini hilo ni swali la kutafakari. Bw. Spika, nakushukuru pamoja na watu wa Kaunti ya Kilifi wanaojua mimi ndiye Seneta wao. Si rahisi jambo hili kutendeka lakini kwa mara ya tatu nimeweza kurudi na kushirikiana na wenzangu ndani ya Bunge hili. Yale yote ndugu zangu kutoka sehemu hiyo watajifunza hapa wanafaa kuyaangalia yanayofaa na…

The next Statement is by Sen. Cherarkey who is not in the House. That Statement is therefore dropped.

Next Order.

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

The Statement by Sen. Kibwana has been deferred but the Statements by Sen. Olekina and Sen. Cherarkey are dropped.

Hon. Senators, if you look at the Order Paper Order No. 8, and 9 are ready to go for Division. Looking at the quorum and the numbers present, we may not be able to go through division today. Therefore, I will move to rearrange the sequencing of the orders in today’s afternoon Order Paper. We will leave Order Nos. 8, 9, 10 and 11. We will proceed to prosecute Order No.12 in the Order Paper, which …

Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, proceed. Secretariat, can you kindly power the microphone of the Hon. Tobiko.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the following Motion- THAT, the Senate adopts the Report of the Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations on a Statement sought on the relocation of National Government administrative services from Chuka Town to Kathwana County Headquarters, Tharaka Nithi County, laid on the Table of the Senate on Wednesday, 19th April, 2023. At a sitting of t…

Government administrative services are yet to relocate to the town from Chuka Town. He also stated that most residents find it expensive to access the national Government offices at Chuka Town. In a bid to respond to the request, the Committee took the following course of action-

Who is the Seconder of this Motion? Sen. Chute, kindly proceed to second the Motion.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to second this Motion. However, I would like to add two things. As you are aware, for construction of county headquarters, funds are

channeled through the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Public Works but most of them have not been completed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I suggest that counties should be given money through conditional grants, so that they can build their own headquarters efficiently. That is what has been happening in most cases. I thank you.

Hon. Senators, kindly have your seats. Senators, the Floor is now open. Sen. (Dr.) Oburu, please, proceed.

[(Question proposed)]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. At the onset, I must state that I am a Member of this Committee of Devolution and Inter- Governmental Relations. I must also state that I am one of those Senators who visited Tharaka Nithi County in both Chuka and Kathwana. It is a very sorry state of affairs. When we visited Kathwana, it was in a very sorry state of affairs because we went to the…

Sen. Okenyuri, please proceed.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also rise to support this Motion and urge Members to support the adoption of this Report. I am a Member of the Committee of Devolution and Inter-Governmental Relations and was among the few Senators who visited Kathwana. The state that we witnessed was really bad. Even the infrastructure to just host the County Assembly is wanting. Can you imagine the County Assembly is actual…

[(Sen. Chute spoke off record)]

Is it an intervention or a point of order? Proceed and tell us under what Standing Order are you prosecuting your point of order?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is not a point of order.

[(Laughter)]

Proceed. What is it? Just give it a name, Sen. Chute.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move a Motion of Adjournment.

I rise on a point of order pursuant to Standing Order No.37 to seek leave of the Senate to adjourn debate to discuss a definite matter of urgent national importance, namely; the intercommunal killings and displacement of residents in Marsabit County.

Hon. Senators, you may now have your seats. Indeed, I am persuaded that the Motion has met the requirements of Standing Order No.37 (5) . Therefore, that Motion shall be prosecuted at 5.30 p.m. today.

[(Applause)]

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I stand in support of the Report brought by the Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Inter-Governmental Relations on a matter concerning a neighboring County of Kitui called Tharaka Nithi County. I have been to Kathwana, Chogoria and Marimanti. The state of affairs in the offices responsible for public administration, both for the county government and the national Govern…

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

now we have elected representatives of the people sitting under trees to deliberate on public issues. What a shame? I do not want to cast aspersions on anyone but when a Senator – I am not naming any person – sits in the office of the Senate in their county, it is their responsibility to bring to the fore things that are happening in their county because all matters are local. There is nothing ca…

Thank you, Senator for Kitui County. Since this Report has come to this House through a certain conveyor belt, let us now hear from the horse’s mouth so that you can give Members insight on what is happening in Tharaka Nithi County.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I am sure you are referring to the Senator of Tharaka Nithi County as a conveyor.

[(Laughter)]

took it upon themselves to go on a fact-finding mission to Kathwana, the gazetted County Headquarters for Tharaka Nithi County. From what they saw, they had to really support me because they thought I was joking when I told them that we are living in makeshifts. It is important for this House to note that I have been in those makeshifts for 10 years as a Member of the County Assembly (MCA). Even …

[(Laughter)]

Sen. Mumma, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the report. I am a Member of that Committee. I led the team to Tharaka Nithi. I thank Sen. Gataya Mo Fire for raising this issue. It is a shame that we are in the eleventh year of devolution and there is a county assembly that does not have premises because of the ping pong between institutions. At the national Government, there is the EACC an…

Sen. Mungatana, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to make my contribution on this matter that has been raised by my colleague and neighbour Mheshimiwa, Sen. Gataya Mo Fire. Tharaka Nithi borders Tana River County on the northern side. When they cross over, they come to Tana River. We also do a lot of trade because they give us a lot of miraa. They bring it from that side. Many peo…

EACC has put a caveat on the release of monies for these projects to continue to their completion. There was a big complaint in the Uhuru administration that the courts are stopping developments through injunctions. The Chief Justice should do something about courts because they are issuing injunctions on Government projects and they are not moving. It is very sad that even in the Uhuru Governme…

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this recommendation should be amended to hit the nail on the head. If it is the money that needs to be released, then the money should be released. We should not now set up another agency to go and again spend public money, wasting more time, when the people of Tharaka Nithi are not getting this money. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in my concluding submissions, I recommend tha…

Thank you, Sen. Mungatana. I was also trying to update myself with the procedures of handling reports. This is now not a report of the Committee, but a report of this House. Therefore, any Member can make amendments to it through the right channels. As you have rightly put it, if you feel that the recommendation is not watertight, you can amend it through the normal procedure. You can do so, thro…

[(Interruption of debate on Report)]

Sen. (Prof.) Kamar, please proceed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Learners with Disabilities Bill (Senate Bills No.4 of 2023) be read a second time. This Bill was brought to this House in March, and we have gone through the whole process. The purpose of the Bill is to propose that the learners with disabilities are provided with proper education and for the conduct of education institutions offering education to l…

[[The Deputy Speaker (Sen. Kathuri) left the Chair] [The Temporary Speaker (Sen. Wakili Sigei) in the Chair]]

to decide at what level they are going to enter the different levels of education. This is one area where the national Government must provide guiding policies. The national Government must formulate programs and put in place structures for the provision of home-based, non-formal, adult continuing alternative, online, free and appropriate public education. This is a very delicate area because som…

left out even in childhood. They must be in school at that stage, if not for anything; for interaction with other children so that they can interact and play because childhood is learning and play. The county governments must, therefore, take responsibility to ensure that a child with a disability is in those kinds of schools which will require a lot of changes as far as the schools are concerned …

Sen. (Prof) Kamar, I wish to remind you that you have got a whole hour to move the Bill. You are still within the one hour. Do not rush.

I misread my time for 20 minutes. Thank you so much. Clause 12 of the Bill explains the process of admission of the learner with a disability. Clause 13 provides for the management of an education institution for learners with disabilities, which shall comprise a provision for the Board, one person, elected amongst the parents of learners with disability. We have provided for one representative of…

recommended by the County Education Board, so that we have a Board that can take care of these children wholesomely. I think I skipped Clause 10 as I thought---

Hon. Sen. (Prof.) Kamar, we will stop you, so that you later resume moving your Bill. You will have 40 minutes remaining within your time when we resume debate on this Bill. There is a Motion for adjournment to discuss a matter of national importance by Sen. Chute. Thank you very much Sen. (Prof.) Kamar. Sen. Chute, I call upon you to move the Motion.