Nyachae hits out at MPs as Constitution team mandate ends

The Commission for Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) chairman Charles Nyachae has hit out at MPs accusing them of contempt and disregard for the supreme law and passing legislation to serve their own interests.

In an exit statement for the CIC whose term in office ends today, Mr Nyachae said that over the past five years MPs have acted outside the Constitution by setting their salaries and retaining the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

CIC was formed in January 2011 to manage the transition to the new constitutional dispensation, and has been instrumental in crafting legislation and aligning old laws with the 2010 Constitution.

“Over the past five years, there have been too many instances of Parliament, and in particular the National Assembly, acting in complete disregard, indeed contempt, for the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” said Mr Nyachae in the statement.

“Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to state that Parliament, and in particular the National Assembly, has continued to act as though it is an extra-Constitutional body with some misplaced claim to supremacy.”

READ: Nyachae team set to wind up with hefty send-off package

The scathing assessment of Parliament stems from Parliament’s pushing the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to have their higher perks approved.

The legislators received a generous pay package in 2013 that puts them among the best paid representatives in the world, much to the outrage of the public.

CIC also faulted MPs on retaining the CDF despite its being inconsistent with the devolution. President Uhuru Kenyatta earlier this month signed into law the CDF Amendment Bill, allowing the fund to continue existing.

Mr Nyachae also pointed out that turf wars between the National Assembly and the Senate have led to delays in the passing of key laws, especially on the Budget.

Parliament was also faulted for disregarding judicial decisions and the rule of law on several occasions.

Last year the Senate refused to obey a court order stopping it from deliberating on a motion to impeach Embu governor Martin Wambora.

Parliament has also been accused of delays in passing the constitutional Bills that were supposed to have been in place by the end of this year. Several are pending.

Although the Constitution provides that CIC’s term may be extended beyond the initial five years, the National Assembly Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee led by Githunguri MP Njoroge Baiya recommended that the team be disbanded.

MPs did not debate the report before going for the December recess. The Senate on the other hand recommended that CIC’s term be extended.

Mr Nyachae also asked the Executive to implement or provide a roadmap for the implementation of several provisions of the Constitution.