Angry Kenyan youth on June 25 stormed Parliament Buildings and seized the Mace after lawmakers passed the contentious Finance Bill 2024.
The protesters overpowered the anti-riot police officers, breached security protocols, and set part of the building on fire.
Videos seen by The Kenya Times showed protesters carrying the Mace and singing “wakipitisha walale Bunge” (If they pass the Bill, they should sleep in the Parliament).
The protesters aimed to take the Mace, believing this would provide sufficient grounds for dissolving Parliament and calling for fresh elections.
Also referred to as a Scepter, the Mace enhances the richness of parliamentary tradition and symbolizes the authority of the Legislature in which it is displayed and utilized.
It can be a highly ornamented staff of metal, wood or other materials that lies on the table at the National Assembly, Senate and county assemblies when the Speaker is the chair.
Mace Role in Parliament
In most Parliaments, no formal business can be transacted in the absence of the mace.
It is regarded, both within and without Parliament, as the overarching symbol of the authority and dignity of the House as well as the Speaker presiding over the House.
Furthermore, it is an essential part of Parliamentary regalia as it gives credence and legality to the assembly of Members of Parliament.
In the National Assembly, the mace has come to be associated with the authority of the Speaker and the House as a whole.
While the Speaker is officiating over the House, the Scepter must be in its proper place on a Table before him or her.
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The Custodian of the Staff of Office
The Serjeant-at-Arms is the custodian of the Mace and carries it on his or her shoulder when leading the Speaker’s Procession into the House each day and on ceremonial occasions involving the Speaker.
Ceremonial occasions in which the Serjeant plays a prominent role include the opening of each term of Parliament by the President of the Republic of Kenya.
It can also be used in the procession of the Speakers and Members to the Chamber during joint sittings of the National Assembly and the Senate including during the President’s speech on the opening of a new Parliament.
Offences relating to the staff include attempting to or removing the Mace from its place in the Chamber during a Sitting of the House, as well as disrupting the Speaker’s Procession.
These offences are considered to be grossly disorderly conduct and attract specified sanctions stipulated in the National Assembly Standing Orders.
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Kenya’s Long history
In independent Kenya, two Maces were utilized by the bicameral House from 1963 to 1966, after which only one was used until 2013 when the new Constitution reinstated the Senate.
Upon the attainment of Independence, the first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta officially brought the Maces to Parliament on December 14, 1964, during the Second Session of the First Parliament.
He handed them to the two Speakers, namely Sir Humphrey Slade, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Timothy C.M. Chokwe, Speaker of the Senate, to symbolize the Constitutional authority of the two Houses derived from the People of the Republic of Kenya.
Since then, it has been part and parcel of Parliamentary business in the country. The Mace is viewed and accepted as the symbol representing this legislative authority.
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