LSK scold’s president Ruto’s proposed parliamentary constitutional amendments
The law society of Kenya (LSK) caucus’ president Eric Theuri has yesterday poured cold water on President William Ruto’s initiated law review proposals through memo to Parliament dated December 9, addressed to the both Speakers of the bicameral House.
In rejecting the move, LSK highlighted key issues entailed in the memorandum among them the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund, the National Government Affirmative Action Fund and an amendment to the Parliament Standing Orders to facilitate the participation of Cabinet Secretaries and Chief Administrative Secretaries in Parliamentary Proceedings as proposed by the president are unlawful.
LSK also noted that the establishment of an Office of the Official Leader of Opposition and a formula to help calculate the gender ratio in the National Assembly were also some of the alleged derogatory attempts to bypass referendum hence violation of verdict on Building Bridges Initiative (BBI)
“It is noted that the President further proposed that these amendments should be pursued without taking the Kenyan electorate through a Referendum. As the Law Society of Kenya, we are astounded by this move by the President given that the amendments will affect the overall structure of Parliament and the Executive,” Theuri Stated.
The legal minds chair claimed that the Leader of the Opposition’s proposals violate the country’s concept of separation of powers and are impracticable for institutionalisation.
“The Constitution is fairly specific on how amendments can be made, with Article 255 defining the issues that must be decided by referendum and stating that any amendments not pertaining to the issues listed in Article 255(1) must be passed by Parliament or through public initiative,” argued Theuri.
LSK has called on the Speaker of the National Assembly to notice that the aforementioned modifications should not be made public in Parliament and has proposed a number of actions.
Theuri implied that since the Law Society of Kenya has enforced orders prohibiting the establishment of this Office and the position of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) is the subject of ongoing litigation before the courts, amendments cannot be initiated on a position that is not legally recognised.
“That the memorandum by the President proposing the amendment of the standing orders to accommodate the CAS attending Parliament presupposes an expected outcome of the ongoing litigation before the court which undermines the authority of the court and shakes the confidence of the legal profession and the public in the justice system,” argued Theuri.
LSK has quashed proposed gender-related changes in the aforementioned memorandum, confirming that the President’s appointments of Principal Secretaries do not comply with what is intended by the Constitution.
As a result, Theuri alludes that the team should first be properly reconstituted to adhere to the Constitution’s gender parity principle.
The Law Society of Kenya has since urged the President to focus on matters other than the proposed amendments that are more important to the Executive and have a greater impact on the nation, such as the hunger that exists in drought-affected areas, the high unemployment rate and the alleged rising insecurity cases ahead of festivities.
