Kalonzo Musyoka Biggest Loser in Marende Verdict
By Sylvester Oluoch

COLUMBIA, Mo- Speaker of Kenya’s National Assembly, Kenneth Marende’s recent ruling on House Business Committee or HBC, chair has attracted accolades from varied quarters.

The mosaic of Marende’s supporters is broad. The baffling bit is the united voices of panel of eminent persons, headed by former United Nation Secretary General, Kofi Annan and former Justice Minister Martha Karua in applauding the move. Karua hitherto saw Annan as her nemesis, and it is refreshing to see the two share a position. The deposed Member of Parliament for Kabete Paul Muite also voiced his agreement.

Marende cited several legislative provisions that supported his stand. Henceforth, he will chair the critical committee until President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have a meeting of minds and solve the impasse that dogged the chair in the run-up to the decision. Either side of the coalition has been unwavering in the demand that the committee be chaired by its choice.

President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity or PNU, wants Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to chair HCB, whereas Orange Democratic Movement or ODM, has been rooting for Prime Minister Odinga, its party leader. ODM and PNU sides have argued political and legal reasons respectively.

ODM, through its chair, Hon. Henry Kosgey holds that the constitution can no longer be meaningful if interpreted in isolation from the National Accord. This, ODM says, is justifiable on the grounds that the formation of the Grand Coalition Government was made possible by the Accord. The Accord, ODM says, is superior to the constitution as far as coalition matters go. PNU, through its key stakeholders, VP Musyoka and Hon. Mutula Kilonzo, maintains that the constitution must prevail in isolation from the National Accord.

Marende held that the constitution touted by Musyoka and Kilonzo failed to midwife the new government and therefore the Accord must get its due place – fair enough.

However, both ODM and PNU arguments present glaring inconsistencies and contradictions.

Arguing that the Accord is a superior document to the constitution is inaccurate and contradictory because it paints the picture that the Accord and the constitution are different documents. The Accord was actually embedded into the constitution, making it part of the constitution. If the Accord and the constitution were separate, then the Accord would be void to the extent of its inconsistency with the constitution. Perhaps that is why ODM wanted to settle for nothing less than the Accord being engrained in the supreme law document.

Marende’s verdict is a quantum leap toward separation of the legislature from the executive and making parliament self-determining. This ruling could also draw more attention to the Keter Bill, which was brought to parliament by Hon. Charles Keter. The bill seeks to completely alienate parliament from the executive and to allow it to determine its own calendar.

This is the most opportune time to pursue the passage of the Keter Bill into law. It is most relevant at this time when the executive wing is suffering paralysis borne of logrolling, partisanship and self-interest.

If Marende’s judgment gains desirable traction, it will water down the executive’s excessive powers, especially in controlling parliamentary affairs.

The speaker’s pen also spelt political winners and losers. At a first glance, it appears to be a big win for ODM. However, Marende has a record of staying the middle ground, and therefore ODM’s win can only be generic by exploiting this window of opportunity to legislate on agenda items it has been agitating for and reclaiming parliament’s lost glory.

It is hard to rule a loss on PNU side. Politicians are wily. The kitchen cabinet could have set Kalonzo up for this failure as part of a wider Kibaki succession scheme. Three things work against Kalonzo in the prevailing set up: He commands a small number of MPs in parliament and cannot put up a good fight; he is also not well liked by most MPs; and he has done very little to work across the aisle.

If both parties have their sight on the future, which is typical of politicians, then Kalonzo is a victim of grander schemes than he can wrestle. This humiliation might be a step in snatching Musyoka the little political capital that comes with HBC chair and fast-tracking him to political oblivion. 
 

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