Members of Parliament have decisively rejected amendments proposed by the Senate to the Conflict of Interest Bill, setting the stage for mediation to resolve significant differences between the two houses of Parliament.
The Conflict of Interest Bill, originally passed by the National Assembly, aimed to repeal the Public Officer Ethics Act of 2003 and establish a robust framework for managing conflicts of interest under the supervision of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
However, the Senate's version of the Bill significantly altered its original intent, leading to a clash between the two legislative bodies.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah spearheaded the motion to reject the Senate's amendments, arguing that they fundamentally undermined the Bill's purpose.
"The nature of the amendments received from the Senate has largely informed my decision to move this motion to catalyse its inevitable referral to mediation," Ichung'wah stated.
"The Senate made amendments that would necessitate us getting into a process of mediation to unlock the extremely divergent views of the two houses."
Ichung'wah expressed deep concerns about the Senate's deletion of critical provisions, including those related to the EACC's role as the Bill's administrator and the broad prohibitions against public officers and their relatives conducting business with government entities.
"The Senate has deleted and proposed repeal of the Public Officer Ethics Act," Ichung'wah explained.
"This has resulted in the proposed repeal of clauses, including those on functions of the commission, and participation of members in proceedings before parliament or county assemblies. The dilution that the Senate has visited on this Bill makes it completely unworkable and creates a fertile ground for corruption and conflict of interest to continue taking root in our republic."
Supporting Ichung'wah's stance, Funyula MP Wilberforce Ojiambo emphasized the critical importance of maintaining stringent anti-corruption measures.
"When we enacted the new Constitution under chapter 6, we knew that absolute power corrupts, and that's why chapter 6 on integrity and leadership was inserted," Ojiambo remarked.
"If we can water down the Bill that we passed here to make it practically impossible to hold accountable elected leaders, then we are taking this country into the abyss. I support the majority leader, but what the Senate did was a great disservice to this country."
Gilgil MP Martha Wangari also voiced strong opposition to the Senate's amendments, highlighting their potential impact on the ongoing fight against corruption.
"The saddening thing with the amendments done by the Senate is that it takes us far back in terms of the war on corruption," Wangari said.
"The issues we have been dealing with in the last month or so, generated by Kenyans, Gen Z, and the civil society, most of them could be sorted if we dealt with corruption. Anything that would jeopardize that fight should be rejected, and we should support this Bill the way we had passed it and reject the amendments of the Senate."
The National Assembly's rejection of the Senate's amendments means the Bill will now be referred to a mediation committee, where representatives from both houses will attempt to reconcile their differences.
