Year: 2018

Audio- Utunzi wa Sheria Bungeni

Image credit: Erasmus Student Network Oulu   This blog is built on the promise that all our readers should be able to access its content. Towards this, as you might have realized, we have ensured that almost all of the blog-posts have audio recordings below them. This is to make

Audio- Chapter eight of the Constitution of Kenya (Legislature)

Image credit: Kenya Law   This is an audio recording of Chapter Eight of the Constitution of Kenya on the legislature. The text of the Constitution is freely available on the Kenya Law website. This chapter has six parts. Part 1 is on the establishment and role of Parliament. Part

How much do you know about National Assembly’s Committees?

Image credit: Psoda   Introduction In this post, I list the Committees of the National Assembly of Kenya. You will note that broadly speaking, they are divided into three: Departmental Committees, Select Committees and Housekeeping Committees. They are various classifications, for instance, the Public Investments Committee, the Public Accounts Committee,

Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bills- “Minor amendments”, you say?

Introduction Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill (or omnibus bills as referred to in other jurisdictions) is a type of a Bill that contains amendments to  several Acts of Parliament. Traditionally, these amendments originate from the Executive through the Office of the Attorney General. They ordinarily contain minor amendments to various Acts of

Dress Politics in Kenyan Parliament: A Few Thoughts

ON 30TH AUGUST 2018, HONOURABLE SHAKEEL SHABBIR, the Member for Kisumu East Constituency, brought laughter to the National Assembly by donning what he called an Islamic hat from Mauritius. This is an excerpt from the Hansard of that day: Honourable (Ms.) Odhiambo-Mabona (Suba North, ODM): Thank you, Honourable Deputy Speaker

50 Common Parliamentary Terms Translated into Kiswahili – Part 1

Below is a list of terms that you might encounter in parliamentary circles that has been translated into Kiswahili: National Assembly- Bunge la Taifa Senate- Seneti Bill- Mswada Amendment- Marekebisho ya Sheria Article 62 of the Constitution- Ibara ya 62 ya Katiba First Reading of the Bill- Mswada kusomwa mara

Five Common Mistakes Petitioners Make in their Petition to Parliament

A few weeks ago, I wrote in another forum that of all the tools that lie at the disposal of the Kenyan citizen, I think the most progressive is one that enables one to petition Parliament on any matter that falls within Parliament’s mandate. I wrote that the form of