Is Parliament the new bully in town? Is it taking all the powers from the executive
May 23rd, 2009
The Kenya Parliament and new powers.
By Oscar Obonyo
When politician Maoka Maore compared the media to a monkey carrying a loaded gun, few would have imagined that his ilk would be viewed in the same light a few years down the line.
Then, the former Ntonyiri MP was opposed to what he perceived as excess press freedom.
Today, however, the shoe is on the other foot and there are fears members of the Tenth Parliament may well be the proverbial apes with loaded guns.
And while, as lawmakers, they have the powers to control the freedoms of others, as did Maore in his contribution to the controversial Media Bill in 2007, it has not been easy for the MPs to turn the gun on themselves.
In a radical departure from the past, the Tenth Parliament has significantly clawed on the powers of the Executive. Pointedly, legislators have taken full control of the reform agenda by identifying, nominating and vetting individuals to serve on various related committees, including the electoral body.
Growing mandate
The single most concern is — can the legislators effectively handle their growing mandate? And can they be trusted with these excessive powers?
"Most of us assume because they are our representatives they can correctly transact whatever business on our behalf. But do they surely have the capacity to do so? I do not think so. They all missed out on the heavily erroneous supplementary budget and it had to take Mars Group lobbyists to alert MPs," reacts human rights lawyer Harun Ndubi.
He observes: "There is a sense in which this House can become a rogue Parliament.
"I mean members are now exercising massive powers, including employing individuals and they want powers to make the budget and recall the President and Prime Minister."
Recruitment arrangement
The lawyer points out that the latest recruitment arrangement of members to the Interim Independent Electoral Commission, Interim Independent Boundaries Commission, Committee of Experts on the Constitutional Review, Truth Justice and Reconciliation Committee, among others, are completely devoid of checks and balances.
"In all instances, the MPs identified and nominated candidates to these committees. They then went ahead and short-listed, interviewed and vetted the final list in Parliament leaving the Executive with the sole role of appending a signature to endorse the appointments," says Ndubi.
In most developed democracies, such as the US, the duties of nominating, vetting and appointing are shared out amongst the House of 
Early this year, for instance, all members of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, including Secretary of
Observes Party of National Unity (PNU) vice-chairman in charge of Legal and Constitutional Affairs George Nyamweya: "It is unfortunate that the political class is still pre-occupied with supremacy contests. We have totally turned Parliament into an employment agency."
The nominated MP believes vested interests in the formation of a new electoral body and other committees to steer reforms will slow the entire exercise. He argues that the two principals — President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga — ought to have been accorded the opportunity to jointly drive the process.
But Ndubi says the practice is being tolerated courtesy of betrayal of the Executive. Nonetheless, he points out that "Parliament is biting more than it can chew".
"What is even intriguing is that politicians are now busy appointing members to an Interim Resolution Court, that will accordingly resolve disputes relating to the very politicians," he charges.
Thriving on the unique coalition arrangement that is partly responsible for confusion and divided political loyalty in the House, MPs have gradually been eating into the Executive powers over time.
Controversial bill
This has been manifested in a host of censure Motions against key Cabinet ministers and introduction of controversial Bills. Now in the pipeline is the so-called Keter Bill — named after Energy Assistant minister Charles Keter.
The Bill sponsored by the Belgut MP during Ninth Parliament was primarily aimed at empowering the House to impeach the President without necessarily compelling Parliament to dissolve. Under the Constitution, as well as the President, all MPs lose their seats if he is impeached.
"These are the selfish traits we are talking about. Why would the MPs want to force their boss out of power while at the same time resist any legislation that equally forces them out, through a recall by constituents?" poses Ndubi.
Separately, the Orange Democratic Movement is further proposing that a sponsoring political party subject the PM to a recall clause, as is the case with South Africa’s African National Congress.
Last September, South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki was humiliated when the ruling party "recalled" him, forcing the former leader to surrender power unceremoniously.
Instances of powerful parliaments and political parties have successfully worked elsewhere, such as South Africa, Italy and Israel. But can Kenya, at this time of heightened and delicate vested political interests, afford a bullish Parliament?
source.standard.ke