Ekwe Ethuro dismisses Justin Muturi's ruling

By MOSES NJAGIH

Nairobi, Kenya: The battle for supremacy between the Senate and the National Assembly has reached new heights threatening to affect the policy and legislative decisions of Parliament.

On Thursday, Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro poked holes on a ruling made by his National Assembly counterpart Justin Muturi on the Upper House’s role on the Division of Revenue Bill and termed it as having no legal consequences to his House.

In a clear indication of how deep the division between the two Houses have sank, Ethuro dismissed Muturi’s position that the Senate had no role in the Division of Revenue Bill, insisting that it was constitutionally right before the House.

In a ruling that was largely hailed by the senators and unanimously endorsed to be placed in an advert in the dailies, Ethuro ruled that the Senate ignores the position held by Muturi and proceed with the business of the Bill.

The Senate consequently went ahead to pass the Bill and even amended it by raising the funds to be allocated to the County Governments from the initial Sh210 billion that had been passed by the National Assembly to Sh258 billion, reflecting a 42.4 per cent of the Sh608 billion in audited revenue.

In the new Bill which will now be sent back to the National Assembly, the National Government was allocated Sh662.3 billion.

It will however be interesting to see how the National Assembly will handle the amendments passed, given that they have already held a position that it was erroneous to commit the Bill to the Senate.

Ethuro, relying on stipulations of the Standing Orders, ruled that he will not allow adverse references to the proceedings of the National Assembly or the ruling made by its Speaker, Senators employed a thinly-veiled attack on Muturi and members of his Assembly for belittling them

“I find and rule that while the National Assembly may be entitled to comment or hold a view on the role of the Senate, that opinion is of no legal consequence in the other House,” said Ethuro in his ruling.

He added: “The Senate claims for itself the right to determine the scope and extent of its role and mandate on any matter, including Bills, not least of all a Division of Revenue Bill”.

In what appeared as chiding National Assembly Speaker for changing his position in his ruling to now hold the position that the Bill ought not to have been sent to Senate, Siaya Senator James Orengo said leaders must be guided by law in making any interpretations.

“They should not be seen to make a ruling today and changing that position later. Imagine making such changes in a court of law, it would be absurd,” said Orengo.

Senators hailed the ruling by Ethuro with Leader of Minority Moses Wetangula terming it as a precedent setting while Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi suggested that the ruling, being a landmark, be published in at least the three major dailies, a position that was upheld by Ethuro.

Kisumu Senator Anyang Nyong’o made comparisons of Ethuro’s ruling to those issued in the tenth parliament by former Speaker Kenneth Marende, and which were described as Solomonic.