Senators warn about 2 bills on academic papers for political aspirants
Senators have expressed concern that two competing legislative proposals on academic qualifications for individuals seeking elective seats risk introducing confusion if they are not harmonised.
Senators Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet) and Ledama ole Kina (Narok) have separately drafted two bills on the issue that the Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs warns are likely to undermine attempts to address the issue.
Both lawmakers appeared before the committee on Thursday to defend their proposals in which they want to amend section 22 of the Elections Act that provides for minimum academic qualifications for political aspirants.
While Mr Murkomen wants aspirants for Parliament and county assemblies exempted from the requirement for a university degree, Mr Ole Kina’s proposal wants the exemption limited to MCAs and insists the provision must be maintained for those seeking parliamentary office.
Instead, the Narok senator is proposing that candidates for ward representative seats have either a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) or must have served two terms as MCAs or as councillor in the defunct local authorities.
Low literacy levels
Mr Ole Kina argued that the basis of his bill is that there are low literacy levels in marginalised areas and it is unfair to demand a degree from those seeking MCA seats in these areas.
Some communities in these areas, he said, will be prejudiced as they have traditionally had limited access to education.
But while members of the committee welcomed the two proposals, as they seek to address concerns about discrimination on the basis of education and status, they argued that the two processes are a danger as they may confuse aspirants because the country is only one year from a General Election.
The committee had refused to approve the publication of Mr Ole Kina’s proposal, expressing fears that it could introduce confusion with less than one year to the elections.
But they were forced to back down after the Parliamentary Legal Office advised that the proposal meets the constitutional threshold for publication and that nothing in the House rules bars Mr Ole Kina from going ahead with his proposal.
“I’m hesitant to support the approval for the publication of Ole Kina’s bill because time is not on our side,” she said, after the legal office advised that once the two bills are approved, it will be near impossible to have the two lawmakers jointly draft one bill.
“The best thing is for the two senators to agree on a mechanism where they will co-sponsor one bill that captures their concerns for the sake.”
Although he expressed similar misgivings, Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo supported the idea of having the two proposals approved
“Let us approve the bills for publication because they don’t contradict the Constitution. Forcing the two senators to co-sponsor a bill is bringing unnecessary bottlenecks in the process. Let us approve and at some point we shall develop consensus,” he argued
“We agree that both bills can be processed because they are not similar, but they are likely to introduce confusion in the process.”
Justice Mumbi Ngugi had in 2012 determined that Section 22 of the Act is unconstitutional because it excludes anyone who does not have a ‘post-secondary qualification’ from running for any elective office.
Inequality
Johnson Muthama, the Kangundo MP at the time, had challenged the provisions in the Act that require MPs to have a post-secondary qualification, saying they were discriminatory and promoted inequity and inequality and were inconsistent with the Constitution.
In her judgement, Justice Mumbi argued that the term post-secondary is not defined in the Constitution and that implementing it will discriminate against people directly on the basis of status and social origin.
“It is the poor in society, the millions of Kenyans living in poverty, who will not get an opportunity to acquire an education, let alone a post-secondary education,” she argued, adding that the provision also indirectly discriminates on the basis of gender.
“As statistics on education indicate, while there is an increase in the enrolment of girls in primary school, the drop-out rate is high, and the transition to secondary school and beyond low. When to this is added the fact that in many communities in Kenya women do not get an education at all due to cultural gender biases, the gender implications of the law are obvious.”
Mr Murkomen said he will rely on the judgment when he pushes his bill through the House. BY DAILY NATION
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