- Kwoma said that the speaker who is the complainant to the powers and privileges committee cannot have been the one presiding over her punishment.
- He said that members did not debate the recommendations by the committee before a decision was made.
Image: CALISTUS LUCHETU
A Kakamega MCA has said the Finance Bill, 2023 passed during a special sitting on Wednesday is null and void.
Chekalini MCA Titus Kwoma said that the Bill is an illegality since the sitting was not summoned properly.
“As such, anyone can go to court and successfully challenge the bill because the sitting that approved it was illegality constituted,” he said.
“Under the normal parliamentary practice, a special sitting can only be summoned by either majority or minority leader now that we are on recess.
"This being a government matter, the sitting ought to have been summoned by the majority leader and gazetted. This was not the case as we were summoned through a short text message.”
The assembly passed the Bill during the sitting on Thursday. The same sitting suspended a nominated MCA Victoria Zilla for disrespecting speaker James Namatsi, which Kwoma again termed an illegal decision.
Kwoma said that Standing Order No. 179 that the speaker relied on to suspend the member is in the fourth edition of standing orders that have not been gazetted.
“The parliamentary procedure is clear that the chairman or vice chairman of a parliamentary committee are the ones who should table reports by their committees and a member can only do so when both are not present,” he said.
He said that nominated MCA Everline Shitandi unprocedurally tabled the report and there was no proposer and seconder as required by standing orders.
Kwoma said that the speaker who is the complainant to the powers and privileges committee cannot have been the one presiding over her punishment.
He said that members did not debate the recommendations by the committee before a decision was made.
Kwoma said that the house had convened on Wednesday to debate the finance bill and the report on the MCA was sneaked on the floor unprocedurally.
He said that the speaker and his deputy are the chairman and vice chairman of the privileges and powers committee and a member could not tabled the report when both of them were in the chambers.
Speaker Namatsi said that the session that approved the Finance Bill and suspended the MCA was not a special sitting but a normal one.
He said that assembly was in session the recess ha ring ended last week.
“Our calendar is gazetted and we are in session as from last Tuesday,” he said.
He said that the decision to suspend the MCA was valid as he did not chair the committee that recommended that she be suspended.
“I am a lawyer and understand all rules of natural justice. The committee chaired by Hon Francis Washika invited the MCA twice to appear and defend herself but she declined to appear, forcing them to go ahead and make their recommendations,” he said on the phone.
He said that he said standing order on which he relied to suspend the MCA was part of the rules deliberate and approved by the assembly in May this year and therefore operational.