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The draft Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020 sponsored by the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) proponents will be introduced in Parliament on Thursday.
In his communication to senators, Speaker Kenneth Lusaka said the Senate Business Committee (SBC) at its meeting held on Wednesday, March 3, resolved that the Bill be introduced in the Senate for First Reading on Thursday afternoon in the format that it was presented to the 47 County Assemblies by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“I direct that the draft Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020 be introduced in the Senate for First Reading on Thursday, March 4, 2020,” Lusaka said.
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“That, the Clerk of the Senate urgently obtains sufficient copies of the Bill from the IEBC in the format that it was presented to the forty-seven (47) County Assemblies by the IEBC to enable the introduction of the Bill in the Senate,” he added.
In addition, the speaker has directed the Clerk of the Senate Jeremiah Nyegenye to publish an advert on Friday, March 5, inviting members of the public to submit memoranda on the Bill.
The speaker has further directed that House Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights holds joint sittings with the National Assembly counterpart Committee on the Bill and undertakes public participation jointly pursuant to Standing Order 224.
“I will continue to issue guidelines regarding the parliamentary process as necessary to ensure that it is disposed of seamlessly,” said Lusaka.
Lusaka and his National Assembly counterpart Justin Muturi had initially sought to republish the bill under a new title “Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2021, before its introduction in the House with minor changes and to include a footnote indicating its approval by a majority of the County Assemblies pursuant to Article 257(7) of the Constitution.
“It is agreed between the two Speakers and the leadership of the Houses that the Bill will be introduced simultaneously and as much as possible follow a similar process,” he said.
