Tuesday, 21st September, 2021

I will make a Communication later. Is there anybody from the Committee on Health?

Proceed, Sen. Olekina.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to lay the following Paper on the Table of the Senate, today 21st September, 2021-

Report of the Standing Committee on Health on the Third Progress Report on the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation in the country.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, Standing Order No. 21 (21) (a) provides that the Chairperson of the Committee may make a Statement relating to a matter for which the Committee is responsible.

I wish to make a Statement on the substantial increase of fuel by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) on 15th September, 2021.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, my Committee has held a series of meetings with the two Cabinet Secretaries in trying to mitigate the cost of fuel and electricity. This increase of fuel prices has had a ripple effect on the economy and has subsequently increased the cost of living and cost of doing business significantly on already burdened citizenry.

Standing Order No.48 (1) provides that a Senator may request for a Statement from a Committee on any matter under the mandate of the Committee, pursuant to this Provision.

At the sitting of the Senate held on 15th September, 2021, Sen. Samson Cherargei requested for a Statement from the Committee regarding the increase in fuel prices as announced by the EPRA.

Following deliberations in the Senate, my Committee was directed to invite the CS, Ministry of Petroleum and Mining and the CS, Ministry of Energy to appear before the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, 21st September, 2021, which is today.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I convened the Committee of the Whole today, Tuesday, 21st September, 2021, but most unfortunately the two Cabinet Secretaries did not attend.

We were informed by the Clerk’s office that the CS, Ministry of Petroleum and Mining was away on official duty and that he had requested the Committee to reschedule its meeting to 29th September, 2021. He chose a date.

The CS, Ministry of Energy cited Executive Order No.1 of 2018 and Executive Order No.1 of 2020 and indicated that the matters contained in our letter of invitation were outside his jurisdiction.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Committee of the Whole noted that the two Cabinet Secretaries abdicated their responsibilities as stipulated under Article 153(3) of the Constitution and that the Senate should find them culpable, in contempt of the Constitution and that the application of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act, 2017 be enforced.

I wish to end the Statement there but I wish to add that this House should actually consider this matter seriously this afternoon. It is not just this matter, but there is the issue of fuel prices. Fuel is the core of every activity. Fuel is the core of any business that is being undertaken. Fuel is the core of living today because most families in the lower cadre of our society use fuel products like paraffin to cook their food.

When fuel prices go up, we expect the cost of everything to go up. Food prices will go up and the cost of living will go up. All of us who have interacted with our constituents are aware of the outcry of Kenyans. We are aware of the apathy and the impossible situation some families find themselves in.

I was faced with a situation where a family came to me and told me that they need assistance because their child could not go to school arising from these increments; public transport has gone up and they have no money since they had budgeted to the last cent. These are the cases that are presented to us.

This is a serious matter and the two Cabinet Secretaries are answerable to Kenyans. We are representing Kenyans and, therefore, the two Cabinet Secretaries are in total contravention of the Constitution by not appearing before this House to give their explanation of the issue. That is the purpose of reading this Statement.

The House should rise to the occasion and show Kenyans that this is the House of reason and the House that has the interests of Kenyans at heart. The Government must be sensitive to the cost of living of its citizens.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, in 1972, President Nixon brought a price control on oil in the USA where they pride themselves to be the excellence of free market economy. In the

same America, President Theodore Roosevelt brought the Anti-Monopoly law to protect the citizens of America against marketers who tend to increase prices for the sake of profit.

Even we as a country, we must and should be sensitive to the cost of living of the people. On this matter, I am calling upon this House and this country to relook at how we are going to bring the cost of living to manageable levels.

Thank you.

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

I have finished. A point of order can be on a consequential debate.

Sen. Cheruiyot, are you standing up to contribute?

No. There is a reason why the Chairperson is sitting down before his time is up. He is doing so because he knows this is not what we agreed on in the morning.

As good representatives of the citizens of this country, we gathered here today at

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this afternoon we had agreed that the Committee chairperson would report to you but we would have resolutions that are actionable. We agreed that the Committee chairperson would move this House to pass resolutions under Article 110 (3) , which are not limited to censuring the Cabinet Secretaries. The Plenary was not supposed to accede to the adjournment sought by the CS. Not even one agency was present to say anything about the request.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Chairperson should not be allowed to complete that report until the resolutions of that Plenary, the committee where we were sitting are fully here.

If the Clerk needs assistance, they should have sought assistance from us. Otherwise, to continue with the report by our good friend and, I was told that he is also a businessman who was affected by this matter, to continue with this report as tabled by him is to derogate from the work that we agreed to do.

I say this to the Chairperson: You must ruffle feathers. You must speak boldly. You must speak to Kenyans because Kenyans do not want the sort of report I have seen in 411 on Citizen news, saying that the Committee of the Whole has been snubbed by the two Cabinet Secretaries.

It bothered us a lot that whilst in the HANSARD it is reported that the Speaker asked the Committee to summon the Cabinet Secretaries, the report that went to those Cabinet Secretaries is an invitation. We feel belittled. To add insult to injury, the Statement that I brought on the fuel prices in March is still unanswered to date.

Even if we have no mandate under the Constitution to censure Cabinet Secretaries, let us start by censuring them now because we have a mandate under the Constitution to defend the people who elected us. The fact that we have no mandate under Tax Law under 114 for Money Bills is not an excuse.

Sen. Orengo mentioned this in the morning that whilst it is not our mandate to pass finance laws, we are equally to blame for the problems that Kenyans are suffering. We would not want to sit here as if we are having a dinner speech wearing tuxedoes to massage the truth. What the chairperson is doing is massaging the truth. We will not accept.

Thank you.

Mr. Speaker---

Order, Senators. The chairperson seems to be under a lot of pressure. He has even forgotten the rules.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the chairperson must be put under pressure. This is serious business and I want the chairperson to sit down and listen to us instead of engaging Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. The Chairperson should sit down and listen to us.

This morning up to the afternoon there were more than 20 Senators here. Members spoke candidly and seriously. The distinguished Senator for Busia was very candid in his presentation and so were all the other Senators: Sen. Orengo, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., Sen. Cheruiyot. Before we left, we gave the Chairperson clear direction that he was going to bring a report that would deal with the issue of hiking fuel prices, skyrocketing electricity bills and above all, the conduct of two Cabinet Secretaries and their attitudes towards this House.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is very offensive to this House for two Cabinet Secretaries to be invited to come to the House to deal with a national crisis and none of them turns up, not even their Principal Secretaries or a representative to come and tender an apology as to why they were not here.

One CS, hon. Keter, who is a former colleague here simply sent a message that the matter does not concern him. This is serious. What the Chairperson of the Committee on Energy, Sen. (Eng.) Maina has read here is a total departure from what we agreed on. We had agreed that he brings an interim report that will trigger debate on a matter of serious national importance that is engulfing the country today.

Eighty percent of Kenyans use kerosene for their livelihoods. Even when the economy nearly collapsed in 1991/1992, and Sen. Orengo can bear me witness, Mzee Moi could not let the price of kerosene go up because it is the livelihood of ordinary people.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, before you make your ruling, I want to urge that the Chairperson goes back and brings the Statement that will lead debate in this House, even if we have to shelve everything to tomorrow or this afternoon. We must censure these Cabinet Secretaries and we must speak to this matter that is hurting Kenyans everywhere. When you touch fuel, you have touched the life of each and everybody in the country.

Chairperson, you have let us down and we must tell you so. We have a lot of regard for you but you have done the right thing wrongly.

The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Orengo): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was really rushing back on account of the proceedings of the Committee of the Whole which met this morning. To show the significance of a Committee of the Whole and why we borrowed this procedure for purposes of the meeting this morning, it is important to know what happens when you have a Committee of the Whole. That is found in Part 22 of the Standing Orders and I will invite Mr. Speaker to look at it.

However, just to emphasize the point, when the Committee of the Whole meets, it may not adjourn until it considers fully the matter that is placed before it. Standing Order No.177 states as follows:

“When all matters referred to a Committee of the Whole have been considered, the chairperson shall be directed by Motion to report to the Senate.” This morning what actually we were asking the Chairperson--- I know the Clerk might be referring to the fact that the Committee of the Whole normally applies when you are dealing with Bills. However, I am saying that it is not for every reason that a Committee of the Whole House sits. It is important that the Committee of the Whole House---

I want to correct the Chairperson here because I saw in that report he is saying that he is the one who convened the Committee of the Whole. You do not have powers to convene a Committee of the Whole. There is no way you can do that. The Committee of the Whole can only be convened upon the resolution of the House over the direction of the Speaker.

I want to say without doubt that if need be, we could even adjourn the House for 15 or 20 minutes so that a proper Motion or report is put before the House for discussion.

This is a matter, if we leave it today without talking about it fully then we will not be fulfilling our mandate to the people. Even where I was in the last one hour the question that people were asking me constantly was: What are you doing about this increase of fuel and the burden that it is placing on the ordinary people?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it was said that taxation without representation is equal to tyranny. However, I want to say that when people are overtaxed it is like slavery. It is enslavement what we are doing to the people of this country.

I would request that if it is possible we adjourn for 20 or 30 minutes so that we bring a proper report with resolutions. This is a matter that we cannot discuss generally.

We must discuss it with certain resolutions. I think that is the direction we should go. If we leave it until tomorrow, I think all the urgency will have been lost.

I take issue with the clerk who was sitting this morning because I remember - I want the Clerk to hear this - we asked him to assist the Committee of the Whole come up with an appropriate report on two issues with resolutions: On the question of non- compliance by the Cabinet Secretaries. It is actually contempt of the House; constant repeated contempt of the House.

Secondly was our resolution on the question of the increase and the taxation measures that have been taken. I submit that we should adjourn for a few minutes if somebody can appropriately come up with a Motion to adjourn.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.32 which states clearly that the Senate may at any time for reasons stated, seek leave to move that the Senate do adjourn now to be able to discuss this matter in detail.

I sat here in the morning and I was perplexed as to what we were doing in this House if we cannot be able to put our foot on the ground and ensure that Cabinet Secretaries respect the Constitution.

Article 153 (3) is very clear as to what the Cabinet Secretary must do when called upon by this House. We cannot continue taking the blame when the Executive which is supposed to ensure that they implement the laws that we pass in this House, continue violating them.

I do not want to deliberate further on this matter. I would seek that we adjourn and I would like to ask Sen. Cheruiyot to second.

We must discuss it with certain resolutions. I think that is the direction we should go. If we leave it until tomorrow, I think all the urgency will have been lost.

I take issue with the clerk who was sitting this morning because I remember - I want the Clerk to hear this - we asked him to assist the Committee of the Whole come up with an appropriate report on two issues with resolutions: On the question of non- compliance by the Cabinet Secretaries. It is actually contempt of the House; constant repeated contempt of the House.

Secondly was our resolution on the question of the increase and the taxation measures that have been taken. I submit that we should adjourn for a few minutes if somebody can appropriately come up with a Motion to adjourn.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.32 which states clearly that the Senate may at any time for reasons stated, seek leave to move that the Senate do adjourn now to be able to discuss this matter in detail.

I sat here in the morning and I was perplexed as to what we were doing in this House if we cannot be able to put our foot on the ground and ensure that Cabinet Secretaries respect the Constitution.

Article 153 (3) is very clear as to what the Cabinet Secretary must do when called upon by this House. We cannot continue taking the blame when the Executive which is supposed to ensure that they implement the laws that we pass in this House, continue violating them.

I do not want to deliberate further on this matter. I would seek that we adjourn and I would like to ask Sen. Cheruiyot to second.

Hon. Senators, let me welcome you back from the adjournment. We have taken longer than we hoped because there were things that were still being sorted out. We accept that, sometimes, flexibility is allowed, especially with a serious matter like this.

Order, Senator. I know this matter is extremely important and urgent, but let us do it properly.

I put the question that the Senate do now adjourn.

The Senate will adjourn for 30 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you have anticipated my point of order. My point of order is on the adjournment of the House. You ruled that we were adjourning for 30 minutes. If the HANSARD will bear me witness, we have done more than one hour. It is actually one-and-a-half hours since we adjourned. What is the time now? Yes, we adjourned for more than one-and-a-half hours. The one hour beyond the 30 minutes of adjournment would have served us debating other very important issues as we wait for the Committee on Energy to be ready.

For purposes of the future, when the Speaker says that we adjourn for 30 minutes, what is the status of the Senate for the time between the end of the 30 minutes and time we resume? Who is going to be held responsible for that time, considering that the Speaker cannot violate his own rules and the Speaker’s ruling is taken very seriously? If this is going to be the practice, what will stop a future Speaker from saying that we will adjourn for 30 minutes, but then we resume the next day? We just appear the next day.

The Supplementary Order Paper has been circulated on your gadgets; you can check. We now have a new Order No.6, and I will, therefore, ask---

Sen. Murkomen, you still want your point of order?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, you have anticipated my point of order. My point of order is on the adjournment of the House. You ruled that we were adjourning for 30 minutes. If the HANSARD will bear me witness, we have done more than one hour. It is actually one-and-a-half hours since we adjourned. What is the time now? Yes, we adjourned for more than one-and-a-half hours. The one hour beyond the 30 minutes of adjournment would have served us debating other very important issues as we wait for the Committee on Energy to be ready.

For purposes of the future, when the Speaker says that we adjourn for 30 minutes, what is the status of the Senate for the time between the end of the 30 minutes and time we resume? Who is going to be held responsible for that time, considering that the Speaker cannot violate his own rules and the Speaker’s ruling is taken very seriously? If this is going to be the practice, what will stop a future Speaker from saying that we will adjourn for 30 minutes, but then we resume the next day? We just appear the next day.

COGNIZANT of the fact that the sharp increase in fuel prices in the country has had a ripple adverse effect on the economy leading to a rise in the cost of living and the cost of doing business on an already overburdened citizenry grappling with the effects of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic; FURTHER AWARE that this increase in fuel prices has outraged a majority of Kenyans who bear the brunt of the effects of the increase such as high cost of transportation, high food prices, high cost of electricity among other adverse effects on most sectors of the economy; NOW THEREFORE the Senate-

COGNIZANT of the fact that the sharp increase in fuel prices in the country has had a ripple adverse effect on the economy leading to a rise in the cost of living and the cost of doing business on an already overburdened citizenry grappling with the effects of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic; FURTHER AWARE that this increase in fuel prices has outraged a majority of Kenyans who bear the brunt of the effects of the increase such as high cost of transportation, high food prices, high cost of electricity among other adverse effects on most sectors of the economy; NOW THEREFORE the Senate-

Distinguished Senators, that was a Notice of Motion. For us to be able to discuss the matter in details, take notice and we will discuss it tomorrow at 2.30 p.m.

Hon. Senators, I have a Communication to make concerning breach of broadcast rules by media houses.

As you may recall, on Wednesday, 15th September, 2021, the Senator of Murang’a County, Sen. Irungu Kang’ata, CBS, MP, rose on a point of order pursuant to Rule 6 (2) and (3) of the First Schedule to the Standing Orders.

Sen. Kang’ata drew the attention of the Senate to the Plenary proceedings of Tuesday, 14th September, 2021, when he had been given the Floor via video conferencing, to seek a Statement from the Standing Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industrialization, concerning the operations of the Murang’a County Creameries.

In the Point of Order, the Senator for Murang’a County informed the Senate that on that day, upon being given the Floor through the Zoom video conferencing platform, there was a challenge with regard to his settings, occasioning the Speaker to rule that the Senator relocates to a more appropriate location before seeking the Floor again.

The Senator thereupon complied with the Speaker’s directive and proceeded to the Senate Chamber and made the request for the Statement from the Floor of the Senate.

Sen. Kang’ata brought to the attention of the House, a recording of the proceedings of the Senate, capturing the exchange between the Honourable Speaker and

himself, at the point at which the Speaker was trying to establish the location of the Senator before giving him an opportunity to seek the Statement.

Sen. Kang’ata stated that there was in circulation a version of the recording that had been manipulated to introduce a voice-over, in which an unknown person is heard stating that Sen. Kang’ata was at ‘Sabina Joy,’ a bar in Nairobi, from where he was attempting to address the Senate.

The Hon. Senator complained that the manipulated recording, which had been circulated in various social media platforms, and was calculated to malign him and cast him in bad light in the eyes of the public.

Sen. Kang’ata claimed that the complained of recording had also been aired and reported as news by four mainstream media houses; namely, Citizen TV Digital, the Star Online Digital, K24 TV and Kameme TV, thereby giving it undeserved legitimacy. This, the Senator alleged, to be a contravention of Rules 5 (3), 6(2) and (3) of the First Schedule to the Standing Orders on broadcasting rules.

Hon. Senators, a number of Senators rose in support of Sen. Kang’ata’s Point of Order. They included the Senator for Kitui County, Sen. Enoch Wambua, MP, the Senator for Bungoma County, Sen. Moses Wetangula, MP, the Senator for Makueni County, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., MP, the Senator for Wajir County, Sen. (Dr.) Abdullahi Ali, MP, the Senator for Kericho County, Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot, MP, and the Senator for Taita-Taveta County, Sen. Johnes Mwaruma, MP.

The Senator of Kitui County observed that professional ethics on the part of the media houses required that they verify any information received, to ascertain its accuracy and authenticity, before publishing it as a news item. The Senator further observed that the dignity of the Senate had been undermined and the Senate brought into disrepute on account of the publication of this false recording as a news item by the media houses.

The Senator for Bungoma County, pointed out that a number of Senators who were in the House on the material day saw Sen. Kang’ata as having been in a moving vehicle, and that he shortly thereafter walked into the Chamber and subsequently prosecuted the Statement, which he had earlier attempted while on the Zoom platform.

The Senator of Bungoma also stated that those in the Chamber did not hear anyone call out “Sabina Joy” when Sen. Kang’ata was on the online platform. He called for the media houses to apologize to the Senator of Murang’a County, the Speaker of the Senate and the Senate.

The Senator of Makueni County called for the correct video recording to be released to the media houses by the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit (PBU), in order to curtail further circulation of the offending recording.

Hon. Senators, that being the first time the matter was being brought to my attention, I undertook to make a ruling on the matter today. The sum of the question on which I was called upon to rule was whether the recording in question and the manner in which it was carried by the media houses amounted to a violation of the Standing Orders, and if so, what action was appropriate to be taken by the Senate against the offending media houses.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am troubled as a Member of the Committee on Energy. The Communication that you have given is quite in order;

that media houses should respect this House and the responsibility that they should carry. However, I would be lying to myself to say that I am comfortable with the direction you gave.

When we adjourned temporarily, I expected the Chairperson of my Committee to prepare a report and table before the House. However, when we got back here, the Senate Minority Leader tabled a Notice of Motion to discuss a very important matter. The two Cabinet Secretaries who were supposed to appear before this House today is what we were going to discuss here this afternoon.

I am not comfortable with the fact that we are now going to make it a debate. I am not so sure what that debate will result to, yet we have not completed the work that we are supposed to do. This issue really bothers me. It also makes me realize and support everyone who talks about a system that is mixed, where the Cabinet Secretaries sit in the Houses of Parliament, so that they can be made accountable.

The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, Hon. Munyes and the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Hon. Keter, are making a mockery of this House. We cannot just fold and decide to discuss other issues such as how the media behaves. By doing that, it also makes us unaccountable.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have a task that we are supposed to complete as the Committee on Energy. You gave a direction on the task and we have not completed it. We now have a Notice of Motion to come and discuss the two Cabinet Secretaries tomorrow. What happens to the issue of fuel prices? Will it change once we discuss the two characters tomorrow? What should we be doing this afternoon? I am bothered because I do not want to be unaccountable like those Cabinet Secretaries.

What is your point of order, Sen. Murkomen?

that media houses should respect this House and the responsibility that they should carry. However, I would be lying to myself to say that I am comfortable with the direction you gave.

When we adjourned temporarily, I expected the Chairperson of my Committee to prepare a report and table before the House. However, when we got back here, the Senate Minority Leader tabled a Notice of Motion to discuss a very important matter. The two Cabinet Secretaries who were supposed to appear before this House today is what we were going to discuss here this afternoon.

I am not comfortable with the fact that we are now going to make it a debate. I am not so sure what that debate will result to, yet we have not completed the work that we are supposed to do. This issue really bothers me. It also makes me realize and support everyone who talks about a system that is mixed, where the Cabinet Secretaries sit in the Houses of Parliament, so that they can be made accountable.

The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, Hon. Munyes and the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Hon. Keter, are making a mockery of this House. We cannot just fold and decide to discuss other issues such as how the media behaves. By doing that, it also makes us unaccountable.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have a task that we are supposed to complete as the Committee on Energy. You gave a direction on the task and we have not completed it. We now have a Notice of Motion to come and discuss the two Cabinet Secretaries tomorrow. What happens to the issue of fuel prices? Will it change once we discuss the two characters tomorrow? What should we be doing this afternoon? I am bothered because I do not want to be unaccountable like those Cabinet Secretaries.

What is your point of order, Sen. Murkomen?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I join you in congratulating yourself and the ruling.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I join you in congratulating yourself and the ruling.

represented so many people. He has a right to seek civil remedy for the damage to his reputation.

Lastly, I thought that procedurally – and we are learning – the Motion by Sen. Orengo--- I thank him for being bold. It is only bold people who do bold things. When you bury your head in the sand, you cannot rise at some point. Somebody has buried their head in the sand and that is why we have a Motion as opposed to a report. It would have been nice to have a report tabled, highlighting some of these things, so that you complete the process properly, following your direction, and then we have a Motion.

Chairman, for how long will your Committee hide its head in the sand? For how long are you going to treat Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) with kids’ gloves, so that Sen. Orengo then appears the bold one? You have now thrown it to the Minority, so that it does not look as if Government is attacking Government. That is cowardice.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to raise the two issues that the Senate Majority Leader has spoken about. Sen. Kang’ata was not misrepresented; he was defamed. It is not the same thing. Now, speaking like a lawyer, listen. Even when you withdraw an offending video from a platform, it has circulated. Sen. Kang’ata has been defamed. Do not say and do not caveat him because he has a right. I have

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise on a point of order because we have arrived, and the direction taken on this matter was after consultation with the House. The Committee has achieved and done its best. From March to September this year, there was no increase in fuel prices. My Committee kept pushing these people against fuel prices. Nobody can come here and rhetorically pretend to be talking of bravery. Brave men are on the warfront and not on rhetoric. That is where my Committee has been fighting.

There is a point of order by Sen. (Eng.) Maina.

Just use your card. Do not raise your hands.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beseech you for heaven’s sake, do not be carried away by some dictionary words.

Just use your card. Do not raise your hands.

Sen. Orengo, you still want to speak? The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Orengo) : Mr. Speaker, Sir, we had passed this Order as rightly put by Sen. Murkomen and Sen. Wetangula. However, I beseech the House that we are a House of records. I will give an example of when Josiah Mwangi Kariuki was murdered. The matter was raised in the House, but because they needed to put on record material which would then move to the appropriate authorities to take some action, they came by way of a Motion after the matter had been raised informally.

I have heard a lot of what people have said. For example, the Senator for Nandi talked about the price of fuel in other jurisdictions. That is very important material that we should put before the House when we have a debate on this matter. People have noticed. We should have some material that we place before the House during that debate, instead of just having a general debate. I think that we need to put some material before the House on the two issues.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the work of the Committee will go on. The Committee is still seized of the matter. However, there are two things that have arisen. One is the contempt by the Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) on which we need a resolution. In order to get there, we must have some material on what happened before.

Secondly is the question of what the country is feeling now. Sen. Sakaja toured Nairobi and it was a lavish issue wherever he went. When we debate this matter, it is not just for any Member to stand up for two minutes and say that people are suffering. If you go out there, people will tell you that they are suffering. However, we need to put some material as we debate so that when we make a resolution, there will be some record that we had justification in bringing this Motion forward. I plead with the House, particularly Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. In this one, there is no question of cowardice. We will see cowards when we are voting, not when we are proposing the Motion. That will come another time.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can assure you that on my part, I will turn up to move the Motion when it is called tomorrow. I am assured that it is will be there tomorrow. In order to make sure that we have no doubt about this matter, if you can all, I think there should be a House Business Committee (HBC) meeting, so that the Motion will be indeed the first business tomorrow.

No Member of Parliament (MP) should be told that they are going to speak for two minutes. Everybody should speak on this matter for a minimum of 10 minutes. If I start now, I intend to take one and half hours because I have material, especially on this issue of contempt by the CSs. We want to demonstrate what happens in other parliaments when CSs do not appear before parliament and for it to be put on record.

The other example I want to give is that when some CSs refused to appear before a judge, the judge said that he could not order policemen to arrest them, but had one tool, which he used. The CSs had to obey because they knew the consequences. Tomorrow, we will also talk about what tools we have. If we talk now, it will just be a baraza. We do not want to be a baraza.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

I can see some interventions. Please, let us not discuss the Motion because it is coming up tomorrow.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I know that this is not the most ideal way of dealing with this issue. I understand the wisdom and the need to have this censure Motion, but remember that you directed that these CSs appear. On top of expressing concerns, which is what we are going to do--- Kenyans have expressed concerns about the fuel prices. We want to get a solution for Kenyans. That is the intention.

I urge that you further direct that those CSs still appear, whenever it is. They still have to come. The matter is not away from the Committee. The Committee might

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we had passed this Order as rightly put by Sen. Murkomen and Sen. Wetangula. However, I beseech the House that we are a House of records. I will give an example of when Josiah Mwangi Kariuki was murdered. The matter was raised in the House, but because they needed to put on record material which would then move to the appropriate authorities to take some action, they came by way of a Motion after the matter had been raised informally.

I have heard a lot of what people have said. For example, the Senator for Nandi talked about the price of fuel in other jurisdictions. That is very important material that we should put before the House when we have a debate on this matter. People have noticed. We should have some material that we place before the House during that debate, instead of just having a general debate. I think that we need to put some material before the House on the two issues.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the work of the Committee will go on. The Committee is still seized of the matter. However, there are two things that have arisen. One is the contempt by the Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) on which we need a resolution. In order to get there, we must have some material on what happened before.

Secondly is the question of what the country is feeling now. Sen. Sakaja toured Nairobi and it was a lavish issue wherever he went. When we debate this matter, it is not just for any Member to stand up for two minutes and say that people are suffering. If you go out there, people will tell you that they are suffering. However, we need to put some material as we debate so that when we make a resolution, there will be some record that we had justification in bringing this Motion forward. I plead with the House, particularly Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. In this one, there is no question of cowardice. We will see cowards when we are voting, not when we are proposing the Motion. That will come another time.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can assure you that on my part, I will turn up to move the Motion when it is called tomorrow. I am assured that it is will be there tomorrow. In order to make sure that we have no doubt about this matter, if you can all, I think there should be a House Business Committee (HBC) meeting, so that the Motion will be indeed the first business tomorrow.

No Member of Parliament (MP) should be told that they are going to speak for two minutes. Everybody should speak on this matter for a minimum of 10 minutes. If I start now, I intend to take one and half hours because I have material, especially on this issue of contempt by the CSs. We want to demonstrate what happens in other parliaments when CSs do not appear before parliament and for it to be put on record.

The other example I want to give is that when some CSs refused to appear before a judge, the judge said that he could not order policemen to arrest them, but had one tool, which he used. The CSs had to obey because they knew the consequences. Tomorrow, we will also talk about what tools we have. If we talk now, it will just be a baraza. We do not want to be a baraza.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I join the rest of my colleagues in appreciating a very wise ruling that you gave this afternoon. It is well considered and very balanced. Many of us who are keen followers of media practice in this country will record that this is a time that our media has sunk at its lowest ebb in terms of its standards of practice; be it in its reporting of political issues or anything else that is of grave concern to the country.

On the day that we were handling the issue of Sen. Kang’ata, I pointed out instances where mainstream media, not just bloggers--- Nowadays, some of these bloggers are even more accurate than the mainstream media and the kind of things that they say. You gave the kind ruling that you have given reminding them that they are the Fourth Estate outside the three, one of which is Parliament.

The media plays a very important role in the country in terms of forming the psyche and how you build up a nation and emerge to be a respectable democracy.

The kind of things we are nowadays seeing---. I know if there are still ways through which I can make the request I had made that day. My request at that time was to have Members of the Committee on Information, Communication Technology (ICT) have a sitting with the Media Council of Kenya and ask them about the proliferation of fake news in our country and how it is becoming a common practice.

Is it for want of sufficient laws to put many of these media houses to check or is there something we can do as a House to have them checked? This is so that we have the media do that right thing, report what is factual, be unbiased and professional. It is not too much to ask.

Thank you, so much Mr. Speaker, Sir for that ruling. I guess those who are keen followers of the media such as Wambua and a few others can still caucus and find a way through which we can get that exercise done by this House. I believe it is something we need to do as a House.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I know that this is not the most ideal way of dealing with this issue. I understand the wisdom and the need to have this censure Motion, but remember that you directed that these CSs appear. On top of expressing concerns, which is what we are going to do--- Kenyans have expressed concerns about the fuel prices. We want to get a solution for Kenyans. That is the intention.

I urge that you further direct that those CSs still appear, whenever it is. They still have to come. The matter is not away from the Committee. The Committee might

imagine that since we have a Motion tomorrow, their work is done. You still need to further direct that they appear. In fact, they should now be summoned to appear to answer---

Sen. Orengo has rightly said what Kenyans want. The other day in Korogocho and Kariobangi, everyone expressed that concern. They have a lot of confidence and faith in this House. They expect a solution from the Senate. That is what we want to discuss more than just expressing concerns.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I ask that you further direct that the Committee still holds that meeting after our Motion tomorrow. The Chairman says that they have material and have discussed this from March. Could they furnish us with that material before the Motion? Otherwise, people will just say how fuel is expensive, then what? Kenyans want solutions. That is my kind plea to you.

Let us consult in low tones. The Senate Minority Leader (Sen. Orengo) : Mr. Speaker, Sir, is it in order when Sen. Cheruiyot is making a very important point that Sen. Cherargei is on his feet throughout and engaging two Senators?

In fact, I have noticed that whenever Sen. Cherargei is speaking, Sen. Cheruiyot is always dead quiet. I do not know what he has against the Senator of Kericho, that as soon as he starts speaking, he feels that he must talk to somebody.

An

Distinguished Senators, consult in low tones.

No, it cannot be a border issue and he cannot be bonding unless he is firmly in bed with somebody.

The Senate Leader of Minority is raising a very pregnant point. I would expect that we conduct ourselves within the laws and the rules of this House. It is important to listen to what is going on. That is how we make informed

decisions. Sometimes you do not listen and then wake up and say something that has already been said by somebody else. Let us try to observe our rules.

We want to conclude. As I gave direction, tomorrow, we will have all the time to discuss it. As for the Committee, I think you should continue because the CSs gave some timeframe. Time is not a strategy because it will come and they will obviously appear.

An

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think the rules that apply to this House as rightly captured by yourself are particularly different from the ones that refer to a general discussion by media houses on our performance as leaders, even outside there.

The question of defamation of Sen. Kang’ata from the context of which you issued a Communication, your part of this Communication is not to defend Sen. Kang’ata from defamation. Yours is to protect the integrity of the House. Reading from your Communication, you focused more on protecting the integrity of the proceedings that emanate from this House. This is because HANSARD is a very important source of information for many years down the line.

Those who distorted that clip are one part of this conversation but the other part is those who shared. What is not captured in your Communication is what the relevant Government agencies are going to do to establish the source of that distorted clip. That is very important because this can be repeated many times.

Personally, I was not in the Chamber but the way it was distorted, in spite of being a Senator, I thought there was a colleague in the Chamber until I found the real record of the Senate. What about members of the public?

I thought in your further observance of this matter, this House and the Speaker should write to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to establish the source of the distorted clip.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is a criminal culpability that can be found on that clip based on the Data Act that deals with matters data as well as the Media Act. I request

No, it cannot be a border issue and he cannot be bonding unless he is firmly in bed with somebody.

The Senate Leader of Minority is raising a very pregnant point. I would expect that we conduct ourselves within the laws and the rules of this House. It is important to listen to what is going on. That is how we make informed

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to fortify what my learned colleague, Sen. Murkomen, has submitted before you this afternoon. About three years ago, this country enacted a law, the Computer and Cyber Crimes Act that was specifically meant to deal with these kinds of offences. The point being made by Sen. Murkomen is that there is a criminal somewhere who is the author of the video that has been circulating. Unless the police officers are able to trace and track down that particular person, somebody else will do it tomorrow. You can reprimand the media houses but what about these unscrupulous characters out there who are waiting for any opportunity to manipulate the proceedings of this House and even other entities taking into account that cases in courts are being heard online.

We need the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to conduct thorough investigations to ensure that the author of the video is arrested and action taken against him. That video has circulated all over. Some of us saw the video miles away from this country. If we let the issue to go unpunished, we will not have deterred the person behind the video. We should reign down on the media Houses. However, the person that this House should go after is the one who authored it because there was malice. It is clear that the video was done with a malicious intent. It was not done in good faith. Somebody somewhere wanted to damage the character of Sen. Kang’ata. I request that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) does investigations that the culprits who authored that video are brought to book and action taken against him or her.

Hon. Senators, your sentiments are noted. We will make a follow up so as to establish the origin of that video clip. I agree with what Se. Murkomen said, the media has in some cases killed prominent people by stating that they are dead when they are still alive. In such instances, even if they issue an apology, the damage is usually already done. I instruct the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to get to the bottom of that video clip so that we know where it came from.

Let us move to the statements now. The first statement is by Sen. Sakaja.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think the rules that apply to this House as rightly captured by yourself are particularly different from the ones that refer to a general discussion by media houses on our performance as leaders, even outside there.

The question of defamation of Sen. Kang’ata from the context of which you issued a Communication, your part of this Communication is not to defend Sen. Kang’ata from defamation. Yours is to protect the integrity of the House. Reading from your Communication, you focused more on protecting the integrity of the proceedings that emanate from this House. This is because HANSARD is a very important source of information for many years down the line.

Those who distorted that clip are one part of this conversation but the other part is those who shared. What is not captured in your Communication is what the relevant Government agencies are going to do to establish the source of that distorted clip. That is very important because this can be repeated many times.

Personally, I was not in the Chamber but the way it was distorted, in spite of being a Senator, I thought there was a colleague in the Chamber until I found the real record of the Senate. What about members of the public?

I thought in your further observance of this matter, this House and the Speaker should write to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to establish the source of the distorted clip.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is a criminal culpability that can be found on that clip based on the Data Act that deals with matters data as well as the Media Act. I request

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 47 (1) to make a statement on the status of the new Dandora Stadium in Nairobi City County.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Dandora Stadium has for many years been a community stadium where young people in Nairobi have engaged and many who have had sterling careers in soccer and other sporting activities have considered it home.

The new Dandora stadium in Embakasi North Constituency was commissioned in 2018 by the County Government of Nairobi and it was to be completed in 24 months. However, up-to date, the stadium is yet to be complete. The project has been marred by controversies in its procurement process and allegations of poor workmanship by the contractor who was awarded.

The delay in the completion of this facility is a great disservice to thousands of talented young people who had hopes that it will be of use to them in enhancing their talents especially in sports. For those are familiar with Dandora, due to the closure of the Dandora Stadium, there are many young people who I know that have gone back to a life of crime while some have lost their lives through extra judicial killing.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this delay has also been occasioned by the ongoing investigations on the procurement irregularities by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which is yet to give its outcome. In February this year, the President of the Republic, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, directed that the ongoing works of which 20 per cent or less work was left, be completed within a matter of weeks. However, that did not happen. I took time to speak to the Director General of the NMS and the Acting Governor of the Nairobi City County Government who only gave lip service. I did that because the young people of Dandora were going to storm the stadium and open it themselves because they are happy with the works so far done.

I would therefore like to inform this House that we will invite the Director General of the NMS and the Acting Governor of the Nairobi County Government before my Committee for them to give a full status report on the progress made towards the completion of the project, the costs incurred and when the stadium will be opened.

Proceed, Sen. Omogeni.

Thank you, Sen. Sakaja. Next statement.

Hon. Senators, your sentiments are noted. We will make a follow up so as to establish the origin of that video clip. I agree with what Se. Murkomen said, the media has in some cases killed prominent people by stating that they are dead when they are still alive. In such instances, even if they issue an apology, the damage is usually already done. I instruct the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to get to the bottom of that video clip so that we know where it came from.

Let us move to the statements now. The first statement is by Sen. Sakaja.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 47 (1) to make a statement on the status of the new Dandora Stadium in Nairobi City County.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Dandora Stadium has for many years been a community stadium where young people in Nairobi have engaged and many who have had sterling careers in soccer and other sporting activities have considered it home.

The new Dandora stadium in Embakasi North Constituency was commissioned in 2018 by the County Government of Nairobi and it was to be completed in 24 months. However, up-to date, the stadium is yet to be complete. The project has been marred by controversies in its procurement process and allegations of poor workmanship by the contractor who was awarded.

The delay in the completion of this facility is a great disservice to thousands of talented young people who had hopes that it will be of use to them in enhancing their talents especially in sports. For those are familiar with Dandora, due to the closure of the Dandora Stadium, there are many young people who I know that have gone back to a life of crime while some have lost their lives through extra judicial killing.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, this delay has also been occasioned by the ongoing investigations on the procurement irregularities by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) which is yet to give its outcome. In February this year, the President of the Republic, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, directed that the ongoing works of which 20 per cent or less work was left, be completed within a matter of weeks. However, that did not happen. I took time to speak to the Director General of the NMS and the Acting Governor of the Nairobi City County Government who only gave lip service. I did that because the young people of Dandora were going to storm the stadium and open it themselves because they are happy with the works so far done.

I would therefore like to inform this House that we will invite the Director General of the NMS and the Acting Governor of the Nairobi County Government before my Committee for them to give a full status report on the progress made towards the completion of the project, the costs incurred and when the stadium will be opened.

Sorry, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I picked the wrong Statement. I think I am excited by you being in the Chair to the point of disorganising the statements.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, pursuant to Standing Order No.48 (1) , I rise to seek a Statement from the Chairperson of the Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources on the status of the boreholes installed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) across Nairobi City County.

There have been concerns by residents of Nairobi City County, especially in the informal sector, that majority of the boreholes sunk and launched with a lot of pomp and pageantry in the last 24 months, are no longer functional. Therefore, they are not serving the intended purpose of alleviating water shortage in the informal settlements.

In his detailed response, I would like to request the Chairperson to address the following:

Thank you. The Statement is committed to the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources.

Next Statement is by Sen. Cherargei.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Before I read my Statement, kindly allow me to congratulate you on being a Member of the Speaker’s Panel. I wish you well and hope that you will guide this House with Solomonic wisdom when called upon to make decisions. I wish you the best. We are proud that you are now a Member of the Speaker’s Panel. It allows all of us to grow and learn rules and procedures of the House. Since you have mastery of Kiswahili, we hope that in the near future, you will be guiding the House in Kiswahili. I wish you well.

My request for Statement is on malpractices by players---

Sen. Sakaja, you had 33 minutes left to move that Bill.

Thank you. Give him the correct Statement.

Thank you, Sen. Sakaja. I call upon Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to second this Bill. Allow me to make a few disclosures. First, Sen. Sakaja and I agreed on this Bill way before ‘the Handshake.’ At that time, the two of us conceived that the minority and majority can work together harmoniously for purposes of things like these ones which are crosscutting and help the country without necessarily looking as if we are fighting amongst ourselves.

Secondly, it is extremely disappointing that since Independence, the country does not have a Disaster Risk Management Bill or Act. Through this Bill, the Ministry got itself working and they drew a policy which was a kneejerk reaction to this framework.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, what is even more disappointing is that the country has participated in what you call regional conferences. Kenya has participated in what is now commonly referred to as the Sendai Framework which was done in 2015. In 2005, Kenya has also participated in Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) .

Although throughout there in the general world we pontificate that this is a matter that is close to our hearts, Sen. Sakaja will tell you in Kenya we have the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) sitting in a different office, the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) sits in the Office of the President on a different floor. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sits on a different floor. Everybody has got its own command and it is a typical Kenya thing that please do not close my tap. It does not help.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, through this framework and the work that we did with Sen. Sakaja, we were invited to visit Brazil. Unfortunately, Sen. Sakaja did not go with us to Brazil.

The other one before I forget is that this Bill was proposed by Sen. Sakaja and I before the Solai Dam Tragedy. It actually came in the process. The initial Bill was done on 9th of March. It is important to note that because the Handshake was on 19th March, and the disaster happened in May.

You cannot imagine the things that I witnessed. Let me explain to you how we got into a place called Brumadinho which happened after Solai Dam tragedy. It was a dam disaster where a company which was storing what would be the industrial waste in a dam which was concealed and then they plant grass. It was overwhelmed and it broke killing thousands of people and buried so many in the mud.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee went to the site on day 256. We found people looking for bones. I witnessed bones being excavated and put in a polythene bag. They knew that they were not going to find everybody, but they were

Sen. Sakaja, you had 33 minutes left to move that Bill.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I had begun moving this Bill. However, allow me to also congratulate you for assuming the Chair. I think it is a coincidence that you have gone to the Chair for the first time when I am speaking. When Sen. (Dr.) Mwaura joined the Panel and first sat on the Chair, I was on the Floor. So, there is a probably a blessing that comes when I am on the Floor. You should invite me more often when I make a request. Congratulations! I know you are up to the task and I know you have been in that position before. We hope that you will continue being objective as you guide this House in its deliberations.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have been talking about the matter of Cabinet Secretaries. Allow me to inform the House that tomorrow, the Cabinet Secretaries for the National Treasury and Labour and Social Protection will attend the sitting of the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare on the matter of the one-off honorarium to former councillors. That is a matter that is also close to your heart and the hearts of many Members in terms of how it is to be dealt with. I will share the credentials on the official page of the Senate for Members who will be available to join.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Disaster Risk Management Bill is extremely important. As I mentioned last week, this is a Bill whose process had begun. The Senate had passed it together with the Co-sponsor, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. However, it went through the plight of all these other Bills that had to be republished due to the court ruling in the favour of the Senate. So, this is the second time we are discussing this.

In that same spate of time, our friends in the other House also took liberty to copy and paste – to plagiarise – our Bill. The Ministry has also tried to plagiarise our Bill and it is ongoing as well in the other House. However, we will stick our guns to this because this Bill has come out of a lot of discussions, research and experiences that we have gone through.

Yesterday, there was a fire in Ofafa Jericho Secondary School. Five students were taken to Metropolitan Hospital for check-up after inhaling fumes. The fire started at 6.45

ambulance to come from Machakos County or Wote in Makueni County to take you to hospital. Chances are that, in the process of waiting, you can lose your life.

I pray that we never get the sort of disaster I saw in Solai Dam. In fact, if it was not for some of the green houses, this water was headed to Solai Secondary School, a boarding school. That is how bad that disaster would have been. Up to now, the gullies that were left by that water have never been addressed. If you touch this issue, you will most likely get into Nakuru County politics because the owner is a big man and there are others in the national Government who think this man is untouchable.

That is the problem about the country not having a plan about anything. We do not have prevention. When it is happening, you do not have control. Lastly, when it is recovering – like the CSs who were supposed to answer the questions of Fuel Levy – they go to a famous song we used to dance to when I was younger; ‘It wasn’t me’. I do not know. This Bill is important to that extent.

I will not go into many details of this Authority because Sen. Sakaja has mentioned. I hope that we can get to firefighting, crucial infrastructure, disaster and so on.

As I finish, the country is very proud of the sort of highways that the national Government is constructing on Mombasa Road. Now, nobody has factored in the construction of these roads, the high-level accidents, like people flying from the road is not contemplated. Therefore, I hope that this Bill and the people who matter, can understand that even in the turf wars in Parliament, this is one of those Bills that are people-driven to take care of Kenyans.

I have said this before and I must repeat to the powers that be; a Government is supposed to - at the very least, even if it does not feel – pretend it cares about its citizens. It is sad that Sen. Sakaja has to use his resources to go to Gikomba every other time there is fire, when that fire can be prevented or taken care of.

Now that we have drought, I have no doubt in my mind that we are going to have a series of floods in Kenya and the cycle will continue. We will look for Mr. Abbas to donate food.

In the case of Solai, the food was siphoned by the provincial administration for their own purposes. Since we censured them and said they should be removed from office, they have never been removed from office. I think that some of them were possibly promoted.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I second this Bill and hope that it will not suffer the fate that it has suffered before. I think that it is high time that we not only prevented disasters, but planned to deal with them when they happen, whether it is terrorism, floods or even the locusts that visited us from Ethiopia or many other disasters that are not contemplated.

Funny statements were made by Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) who do not understand what they are supposed to do. I pray that we never have things like tremors or earthquakes in Kenya. Just like Sen. Sakaja, I bothered to watch a documentary on the 9/11 Attack and statements by survivors.

There were even more statements by people who, in the middle of those buildings collapsing, were running into the buildings to try and rescue people. It broke my heart

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to second this Bill. Allow me to make a few disclosures. First, Sen. Sakaja and I agreed on this Bill way before ‘the Handshake.’ At that time, the two of us conceived that the minority and majority can work together harmoniously for purposes of things like these ones which are crosscutting and help the country without necessarily looking as if we are fighting amongst ourselves.

Secondly, it is extremely disappointing that since Independence, the country does not have a Disaster Risk Management Bill or Act. Through this Bill, the Ministry got itself working and they drew a policy which was a kneejerk reaction to this framework.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, what is even more disappointing is that the country has participated in what you call regional conferences. Kenya has participated in what is now commonly referred to as the Sendai Framework which was done in 2015. In 2005, Kenya has also participated in Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) .

Although throughout there in the general world we pontificate that this is a matter that is close to our hearts, Sen. Sakaja will tell you in Kenya we have the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) sitting in a different office, the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) sits in the Office of the President on a different floor. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sits on a different floor. Everybody has got its own command and it is a typical Kenya thing that please do not close my tap. It does not help.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, through this framework and the work that we did with Sen. Sakaja, we were invited to visit Brazil. Unfortunately, Sen. Sakaja did not go with us to Brazil.

The other one before I forget is that this Bill was proposed by Sen. Sakaja and I before the Solai Dam Tragedy. It actually came in the process. The initial Bill was done on 9th of March. It is important to note that because the Handshake was on 19th March, and the disaster happened in May.

You cannot imagine the things that I witnessed. Let me explain to you how we got into a place called Brumadinho which happened after Solai Dam tragedy. It was a dam disaster where a company which was storing what would be the industrial waste in a dam which was concealed and then they plant grass. It was overwhelmed and it broke killing thousands of people and buried so many in the mud.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Committee went to the site on day 256. We found people looking for bones. I witnessed bones being excavated and put in a polythene bag. They knew that they were not going to find everybody, but they were

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to debate The Disaster Risk Management Bill that is ably sponsored by the ever energetic Sen. Sakaja and Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. They represent the future of this country. We wish them well because they are able to see ahead.

I also want to congratulate you. It is the first time that I am seeing you on the seat as the Speaker. I have worked with you in all the Committees that we have been together. I know your capability and commitment to work. You will do a good job. Congratulations.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Disaster Risk Management Bill is a good thing that is coming in now, but should have been here as we established the Government. Risks and disasters have always been part of a community. To imagine that there is no law that is specifically geared towards risk and disaster management, is a sad thing.

I will point out three things that this Bill seeks to set up. One is the Disaster Risk Management Fund, which will focus on putting resources together, so that when there is a disaster, we do not ignore it or try to set up ways of getting money. There will be money and resources ready to have that disaster managed, develop the activities that will help deal with that disaster, and have minimal or no effect on the community where that disaster has happened.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Bill will set up the National Disaster Risk Management Authority. It is some sort of parastatal that will help coordinate and deal with issues of preventions, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery activities in case there is a disaster. Currently, we have disaster management as a unit mainly in the Office of the President or what we used to call the provincial administration.

many others. Sen. Sakaja is right in sentiments. Can you imagine somebody constructed a building that was leaning like the tower of Babylon in a country where such kind of things are not supposed to happen?

The idea of a disaster management framework is to make sure that you do not have buildings which are leaning like the one that was constructed in Kinoo. It is surprising that somebody can construct a building that is leaning yet the authorities have turned a blind eye. That is the purpose of this Bill.

When we travelled to Brazil, we went to Brumadinho, before we went to Rio de Janeiro. However, there is something that happened in Brumadinho, that has never escaped my attention. When the disaster happened, the people who were rescuing the victims made themselves available so quickly that a chopper flew into the site of the Brumadinho, Brazil, so quickly. If you Google the Brumadinho Disaster in Brazil, you will see a chopper flying so low to rescue people who are stuck in mud. That is what Sen. Sakaja was talking about. That rescue helicopter was made available possibly within 15 minutes.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if there is a fire in Ofafa Jericho, the fire brigade will come after one hour yet the fire station is just about four kilometres. There is a problem about a country that cannot prepare for disaster. There is a problem about a country that does not see that it is important to have these things in legal framework. This Bill attempts to do that.

There is something that has come to our attention about the Solai Dam disaster. The Government of Kenya through the Kenya Defence Forces has trained experts on disaster management in Israel. We asked the then Cabinet Secretary of Defence a fundamental question, ‘Why is it not possible to avail to his people to train disaster management in counties through a framework since those military officers were trained using taxpayer’s money?’

So, how many of our military officers are trained to manage disaster? The CS says this is a secret. How can that be secret?

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this framework also anticipates that we need to train young people. One time I was invited to Starehe Boys Centre and I was very impressed with what was going on there. I do not know whether Sen. Sakaja is aware that St. John’s Ambulance has trained a specific cadre of students in Starehe Boys Centre, whose work is primarily to deal with emergencies in the school, for example, fires or when somebody has collapsed.

If somebody had an accident on Mombasa Road, chances are that people will waste so much time trying to watch what has happened. I lost the Nguu Masumba Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) on the notorious black spot near Salama on Mombasa Road. I watched people trying to gain entry into the car while some took videos and others tried to cut into the car. In fact, I thought if they managed to get to him, the actions of those people on that scene could have easily caused the death of that MCA. There was no training.

There is no reason why along Mombasa Road – the busiest and most notorious Highway in terms of accidents – you do not have a trauma hospital or an ambulance. Ole wako if you get an accident somewhere in Salama. You will have to wait for an

ambulance to come from Machakos County or Wote in Makueni County to take you to hospital. Chances are that, in the process of waiting, you can lose your life.

I pray that we never get the sort of disaster I saw in Solai Dam. In fact, if it was not for some of the green houses, this water was headed to Solai Secondary School, a boarding school. That is how bad that disaster would have been. Up to now, the gullies that were left by that water have never been addressed. If you touch this issue, you will most likely get into Nakuru County politics because the owner is a big man and there are others in the national Government who think this man is untouchable.

That is the problem about the country not having a plan about anything. We do not have prevention. When it is happening, you do not have control. Lastly, when it is recovering – like the CSs who were supposed to answer the questions of Fuel Levy – they go to a famous song we used to dance to when I was younger; ‘It wasn’t me’. I do not know. This Bill is important to that extent.

I will not go into many details of this Authority because Sen. Sakaja has mentioned. I hope that we can get to firefighting, crucial infrastructure, disaster and so on.

As I finish, the country is very proud of the sort of highways that the national Government is constructing on Mombasa Road. Now, nobody has factored in the construction of these roads, the high-level accidents, like people flying from the road is not contemplated. Therefore, I hope that this Bill and the people who matter, can understand that even in the turf wars in Parliament, this is one of those Bills that are people-driven to take care of Kenyans.

I have said this before and I must repeat to the powers that be; a Government is supposed to - at the very least, even if it does not feel – pretend it cares about its citizens. It is sad that Sen. Sakaja has to use his resources to go to Gikomba every other time there is fire, when that fire can be prevented or taken care of.

Now that we have drought, I have no doubt in my mind that we are going to have a series of floods in Kenya and the cycle will continue. We will look for Mr. Abbas to donate food.

In the case of Solai, the food was siphoned by the provincial administration for their own purposes. Since we censured them and said they should be removed from office, they have never been removed from office. I think that some of them were possibly promoted.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I second this Bill and hope that it will not suffer the fate that it has suffered before. I think that it is high time that we not only prevented disasters, but planned to deal with them when they happen, whether it is terrorism, floods or even the locusts that visited us from Ethiopia or many other disasters that are not contemplated.

Funny statements were made by Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) who do not understand what they are supposed to do. I pray that we never have things like tremors or earthquakes in Kenya. Just like Sen. Sakaja, I bothered to watch a documentary on the 9/11 Attack and statements by survivors.

There were even more statements by people who, in the middle of those buildings collapsing, were running into the buildings to try and rescue people. It broke my heart

because I had never seen the inside of that tower until last week. Documentaries showed people who went to those places to make sure that they rescued as many people as they could.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I second and hope that the country can adopt this framework that Sen. Sakaja and I agreed to co-sponsor as one of those ‘handshake’ Bills that we thought would be useful for the country at the time.

I second.

Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to debate The Disaster Risk Management Bill that is ably sponsored by the ever energetic Sen. Sakaja and Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. They represent the future of this country. We wish them well because they are able to see ahead.

I also want to congratulate you. It is the first time that I am seeing you on the seat as the Speaker. I have worked with you in all the Committees that we have been together. I know your capability and commitment to work. You will do a good job. Congratulations.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the Disaster Risk Management Bill is a good thing that is coming in now, but should have been here as we established the Government. Risks and disasters have always been part of a community. To imagine that there is no law that is specifically geared towards risk and disaster management, is a sad thing.

I will point out three things that this Bill seeks to set up. One is the Disaster Risk Management Fund, which will focus on putting resources together, so that when there is a disaster, we do not ignore it or try to set up ways of getting money. There will be money and resources ready to have that disaster managed, develop the activities that will help deal with that disaster, and have minimal or no effect on the community where that disaster has happened.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this Bill will set up the National Disaster Risk Management Authority. It is some sort of parastatal that will help coordinate and deal with issues of preventions, preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery activities in case there is a disaster. Currently, we have disaster management as a unit mainly in the Office of the President or what we used to call the provincial administration.

Order! Sen. Were will have a balance of 17 minutes.

Hon. Senators, it now 6.30 p.m., time to adjourn the House. The Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, 22nd September, 2021, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 6.30 p.m.