NAIROBI | 4th Feb – The Clerk of the Senate, Mr Jeremiah Nyegenye has today asked the Secretariat he leads, to roll up their sleeves in readiness for what is expected to be the busiest Senate Session, owing to among other processes, the landmark ruling on Constitutional Petition No. 284 of 2019.

Addressing Senate Staff at a meeting to Review the Fourth Session (2020) and plan for the Fifth (2021), the Clerk noted that the order by the High Court for immediate cessation of Bills pending before either house, where the joint resolution had not been demonstrated, had had far-reaching ramifications. 

“We are in the process of republishing about 40 Bills. Additionally, in line with the Constitution, no Bill will be introduced in either House of Parliament without the joint resolution process by the two Speakers of Parliament. These realities will therefore have a bearing on the legislative work of the Senate in the next Session,” said Mr Nyegenye, who also serves as the Secretary to the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).

In observing that the impending constitutional review process (BBI) shall have a direct bearing on the legislative process and output, the Clerk urged Secretariat to familiarize themselves with Article 257 of the Constitution, as well as the guidelines on the amendment of the Constitution by popular initiative, published on 22nd November, 2019.

“In the discharge of your mandate, I am intentional in reminding you that staff are expected to be impartial, neutral and apolitical facilitators of the legislative process,” Mr Nyegenye emphasized.

Such Review and Planning meetings have become a permanent feature in the Senate Calendar of activities. The engagement allows exchange of ideas, learning and re-learning from past experiences, reviewing systems and processes and ultimately drawing up a coordinated strategy to improve service delivery for the next Session of the Senate.

The Senate reconvenes from long recess on Tuesday, 9th February, 2021.