Security calls for true and sober leadership

After yesterday’s acrimony in Parliament over the contentious Security Laws (Amendement) Bill, 2014, we urge President Uhuru Kenyatta to offer leadership to the country. The President must now unite Kenyans in the fight against insecurity and terrorism. For without true leadership and sober debate, those who seek to harm us will have a field day.

Still, this Bill could divide Kenyans along party and ethnic lines, which would hand the enemy a shot in the arm. Indeed, our enemies could have been laughing in some corners, seeing how the august House was divided.

In our editorial yesterday, we indicated that Jubilee legislators were under instructions to toe the party line and pass the Bill on the strength of their numbers in Parliament. Indeed, on the day before the motion was tabled by the mover, Asman Kamama, the President met with legislators from his side of the coalition.

Yesterday morning, Parliament was practically cordoned off by security forces. This could have been necessitated by the Opposition’s threat to mobilise the public to block Parliament in a bid to stop MPs from debating the Bill whose passage was fait accompli. Given the pronouncements by most Jubilee legislators, MPs only had to go through the motions of a debate. The heavy presence of security personnel betrayed the Government’s desperation to have the Bill passed.

The leader of majority had previously indicated a select team was making acceptable changes to the Bill which MPs had to peruse before debating. He had also indicated there would be citizen participation which would have identified areas that needed changes or deletion. By the time the Bill was subjected to a third reading in the House, citizens had not been consulted and Opposition MPs complained that they had not seen the amended draft.

This led to the ugly scenes in Parlaiment and the Speaker had to call for a thirty minutes recess to restore order. Evidently, these are some of the problems that occur when the Executive seeks to direct functions of the Legislature. We reiterate that national security is paramount, but that will not be achieved if decisions tear Parliament into two distinct parts that both seek to influence the public. This can only lead to more divisions to the benefit of the terrorists we seek to tame.