Senators have revived the call to amend the constitution to strengthen the mandate of the Senate.
According to the senators, this move will safeguard devolution.
Moreover, MPs complained that the Senate has been weakened by the skewed nature of the bicameral setting of Parliament, setting senators up for failure.
While raising the issue, Mr Okong’o Omogeni said the Naivasha compromise, during the making of the 2010 Constitution, left the Senate living at the mercy of the courts.
Mr. Omogeni noted that despite Kenya adopting a bicameral system, the setup is not in line with other countries that it borrowed the practice from.
He further gave an example of the United States where senators are ranked higher than members of the House of Representatives, who are equivalent to members of the National Assembly.
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“The Naivasha compromise weakened the Senate, and we got a raw deal. We are now surviving at the mercy of the Supreme Court. Going forward, there may be a need for a constitutional amendment to address all these glaring injustices,” Omogeni stated.
The lawmaker made these remarks during a senators’ induction workshop in Mombasa on Wednesday, November 2. He also added that the Constitution has relegated the Senate below the National Assembly.
According to Omogeni, the Senate will be left to be a rubber-stamping House if such amendments are not made soon.
The legislator further drew comparison with the US saying that senators serve for longer terms compared to members of the House of Representatives because they represent larger areas.
However, in Kenya, both the Senators and MPs serve for a similar term of five years despite the former having been elected to serve a bigger jurisdiction.
Nonetheless, since the dawn of the bicameral parliament under the new Constitution, the Senate and the National Assembly have been at loggerheads over roles, especially legislation and oversight.
Senator Omogeni claimed that during budget allocations, senators are left to cope with inadequate resources to discharge their mandate.
“The number of staff due to a senator covering at least six constituencies is the same as an MP of a single constituency. Is this a functional system?” Omogeni posed.
As of now, the two Houses are at the Supreme Court seeking an advisory opinion to end the rivalry that has threatened to paralyze Parliament.