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Let's abolish Senate, reduce MPs to below 200 – Makau Mutua

Currently, Kenya has 67 Senators, 349 MPs and 2,222 MCAs.

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by MAUREEN KINYANJUI

News29 September 2023 - 06:49
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In Summary


  • • "Kenyans are over-represented and overburdened by their representatives," Mutua said.
  • • Ex-AG Githu Muigai suggested that Parliament has too many leaders and there should be a plan to reduce number of constituencies.
Azimio spokesperson Prof Makau Mutua

Azimio spokesperson Makau Mutua has supported former Attorney General Githu Muigai's remarks on reducing the number of leaders at Parliament.

In a statement on Friday, Mutua said that the suggestion fronted by the former AG will reduce the unnecessary representation of Kenyans.

"Prof Githu Muigai is right. Kenyans are over-represented and overburdened by their representatives," he said via his X social media handle.

Makau went ahead and gave his own suggestion that the number of counties should also be merged.

He also said that the whole Senate should be abolished.

"Let’s shrink the National Assembly to under 200, amalgamate counties, and drastically cut the number of MCAs," Makau added.

Currently, Kenya has 67 Senators, 349 Members of Parliament, comprising 290 members elected from single-member constituencies, 47 woman representatives elected from each county, and 12 members nominated by political parties.

There are 2,222  Members of the County Assembly;  1,450 are elected and 772 are nominated.

Former Attorney General Githu Muigai on Thursday suggested that Parliament has too many leaders and that there should be a plan to reduce the number of constituencies as well as scrap a few political positions.

"We have too many people in Parliament, we have too many constituencies and counties. They are costing us a lot of money. Reduce the constituencies to about 100 and have one man and one woman in each," he said.

Muigai was speaking while making oral submissions before the National Dialogue Committee at the Bomas of Kenya.

Muigai revealed that in 2004 when the Constitution was being drafted, the suggestion from the public participation process was to have only 14 counties.

However, the former AG said that politicians changed their tune later on and increased the number.

"Us as technical people proposed in the draft that we should have 14 county units but it’s the politicians who compromised to have 47.”

Muigai said if their Constitution draft is to be reopened, one issue that could be useful would be the reduction of counties.

The conversation on boundaries comes at a time when a section of members of Parliament have proposed the creation of more devolved units to cater to minority communities.

Kuria East MP Marwa Kitayama tabled a Bill seeking to amend the Constitution.

The Bill proposes to increase the number of counties to 52 from the current 47 capped by the Constitution.


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