Senate · Afternoon Sitting

Clerk, do we have quorum? Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes. I confirm that we now have quorum. Clerk, read the first Order. Sen. Danson Mungatana, you have a Notice of Motion to give. Either Sen. Mungatana or Sen. Veronica should give the Notice of Motion.

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

[(The Quorum Bell was rung)]

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, on behalf of myself and Sen. Veronica Maina, I wish to give Notice of the following Motion on celebrating the life of Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o- THAT AWARE that Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a prominent author, academician and human rights defender, globally recognised for

his foundational contributions to literature and good governance, passed away on the 28th May, 2025 at the age of 87; COGNISANT That the late Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o had an illustrious career in writing and teaching literature spanning over six decades where he authored landmark novels, plays and poems that shaped post-colonial studies, contributed to social justice and inspired generations of…

Next Order.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity. 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 regarding the status of insurance coverage for hospital assets countrywide, particularly those within Migori County. Specifically, the committee should address the following-

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.53 (1) to seek a statement from the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries on a matter of county-wide concern regarding the Government's failure to purchase locally produced rice in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, which has resulted in the accumulation of over 5,000 metric tonnes in storage facilities. In the statement, the…

Proceed, Sen. Hamida Kibwana.

(Motion deferred) I will go to Order No.9 Clerk, please proceed to read out Order No.9.

There being no Senators to contribute to this Bill, we shall defer the reply and rearrange the Order Paper.

[(Reply to the Bill deferred)]

We shall defer the Order Paper from Order Nos.11 to 17.

Clerk, call the next Order.

Sen. Tabitha Mutinda, please proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I beg to do a Second Reading of my Bill, The Labour Migration and Management (No.2) Bill (Senate Bills No. 42 of 2024) . Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I take this opportunity to thank the Senate Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare that was working on this Bill as far as public participation is concerned to where it is today. The main aim of this Bi…

within and outside Kenya, as well as, safeguard the rights, welfare of job seekers and migrant workers and for the connected purposes. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I put this Bill down because I have had passion for issues of our young boys and girls who have gone to the Gulf countries. I have seen what they have gone through over time and the challenges that they have endured as they have worked …

Sen. Tabitha, I would like to guide you that before introducing the Bill and going into its introduction, you are supposed to move the Bill to be read a second time and then proceed thereafter.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for guidance. My sincere apologies, at times, because of the busy schedule, we miss some of these points, but it is not intentional. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, allow me to Move the Motion – THAT the Labour Migration and Management Bill (No.2) Bill (Senate Bills No.42 of 2024) , be now read a Second Time. As I earlier mentioned, I would like to appreciate the Standing Com…

This Bill will ensure that our people can get the fairest earnings. The fact that there is an understanding, there is a policy in place, it will give our people an opportunity to earn fairly or be able to match other foreigners who are also working in those countries. At times, people from other countries are paid higher than our Kenyan people, yet they are doing or offering the same services that…

Verification and approval of job orders that are emerging from private employment agencies. Continuous awareness for them needs to be offered. The Bill ensures all that. The authority that I am proposing will ensure that it monitors the performance of all these agencies. How are they working? How many people have been able to move? How many cases are being received as far as complaints are concern…

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, through the Kenyan mission attaché, the Bill provides that they can set a safe house for our Kenyan people. In the event that an issue occurs, harassment or misunderstanding, then provision of a safe house for each and every country where our people are working will give them an opportunity to be able to still continue feeling safe and know that the Government is still …

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I beg to second. First, I want to chip in on this Bill which I feel strongly is long overdue. It should have been moved early enough. We have been having issues with the recruitment and agents, maybe I should even call them scammers who have been really scamming our young. Most of them, of course, are women who are taken to, especially to the Middle East. It…

I am happy that the Bill provides for the establishment of Migrant Workers Welfare Fund. It also provides a bilateral labour agreement appeal against administrative decisions that will be made and the establishment of safe houses in the destination countries. It is our pride when we go to Qatar and find our young men and women working there. They all seem very happy and quite motivated to work. T…

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we need to have all these workers registered. Even if there is cancellation for any registration, then it needs to be provided. We need to have a proper data of our Kenyan workers working abroad. We need to have the data of which city they are, company, organization, or house that they are working. It seems we do not have this information and that is why some of the age…

Sen. Danson Mungatana.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to support this Bill. I start by thanking the sponsor of the Bill, the Hon. Sen. Tabitha Mutinda and the team that worked with her to bring this legislative proposal or Bill before this House. A legislative proposal always responds to a certain need that exists within the country. There is a need to regulate these labour employm…

these people transported all the way back to Nairobi. This is because they had mishandled the opportunity for employment back in Johannesburg. There is a category of young people who want to go abroad, but do not know how to access job opportunities, leading them to seek shortcuts. There is also another category of individuals who set up bureaus under the guise of creating employment or searching…

attachés in these embassies that we maintain in various capitals across the world. I believe this is a good Bill. I urge fellow Senators to support it because it solving a problem. I am confident that once it is enacted, we will have a better system for protecting our children who seek employment abroad. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I cannot conclude my submissions without congratulating the curre…

We are also moving away from fake bureaus to a situation where we have now registered bureaus that are recognized by law. You can Google them, know them and you deal with entities that will assist our people. We are moving from a position where we never had labour attaches. Now we will have in our embassies abroad. Even when your children go out there to work, there will be a place where they can…

I now call the Mover to reply.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker. For me, it is a really great evening. This is a Bill that my colleague; the seconder, Sen. Hamida, made a positive contribution. These are things that touch our people very dearly. She has been able to share some of the examples and I really want to thank Sen. Hamida for her great input. I know she is a champion when it comes to matters health and anything that af…

international standards, migrant workers’ rights to information and the right to redress if their rights are violated. The Bill is averse and it covers everything as far as their safety, growth, opportunities and online data security is concerned. Everything is covered by this Bill. What will change the perception that our migrant workers are being trafficked? We will serve genuine and rogue agen…

Very well, Senator. The Division will be deferred. Clerk, read the next Order.

The Order is deferred.

That Order is deferred.

The Motion is deferred.