Nairobi, Kenya: Chief Justice Willy Mutunga has convened a bench to hear the case filed by nine governors through an International Legal consultancy Group over summonses to them to answer questions on County government finances.
Chief Justice Willy Mutunga
Mutunga constituted the bench after Justice Mumbi Ngugi sitting in Nairobi ruled that senate has no absolute powers to summon the governors pending the bench to determine the whole issues in the petition.
The bench will now hear the petition by the Council of Governors versus the Senate and the Speaker of the Senate. It consists of Justice Hedwig Ong’udi (Presiding), Justice Cecilia Githua, and Justice Boaz Olao. Justice Ngugi had certified the matter as urgent.
The nine County bosses became apprehensive over their fate. Messrs Keneth Lusaka (Bungoma), Issac Ruto (Bomet), William Kabogo (Kiambu) , Julius Malombe (Kitui), Jack Ranguma (Kisumu), Kinuthia Mbugua (Nakuru), Samuel Tunai (Narok), Hussein Dado (Tana River) and Ahmed Abdullahi (Wajir) are in court.
The judge also restrained the Senate and Clerk of the senate from summoning County Executive Committee members responsible for finance to appear before it.
Summons issued on February 8, 2014 by the senate to the nine governors and County Executive Committee Members are suspended till the three judge bench constituted by the Chief Justice fully hears the case and make a ruling.
International legal consultancy Group went to court under section 258 to seek redress on the supervisory jurisdiction and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual.
Lawyer Peter Wanyama in his application told the court: “The petition not weighty and deals with weighty constitutional matters.” He said the senate is infringing on the powers of the County assembly.
He said the summons contravene Article 125 of the Kenyan law.
“The article allows the senate powers to summon anyone to appear before it, but the same constitution limits these powers under article 226,” Wanyama told the court.
He said that an accounting officer of a National public entity is accountable to the National Assembly for its financial management while an accounting officer of a County public entity is accountable to the County assembly for its financial management.
In a supportive affidavit, Kipkoech Tanui, an advocacy manager at the International Legal Consultancy Group said that the senate represents the counties and serves to protect the interests of the counties and their governments.
“The Senate being a legislative body, it oversight role over nationally collected revenue to counties is not identical to the County Assembly’s oversight over the executive,” Tanui swore in his affidavit.
He said the Senate cannot scrutinize County expenditures in the same way that the committees and general assembly’s of the county legislatures does.
The petitioner further claims that the Senate has powers limited to oversight over National agencies which manage national revenue allocated to the counties such as National treasury.
The suit says that the senates’ mandate is to scrutinize the county financial and other records for purposes of making decisions of impeachment, intervention in a county, suspension of a county.
“In as much as parliamentary oversight is crucial, this oversight must be exercised strictly within the parameters of the constitution,” swore Tanui.
By Kurian M. Musa, The Standard
