Kenya’s bicameral Parliament has come under renewed scrutiny after former Attorney General Githu Muigai questioned whether the country still needs its current structure, while Senate Speaker Amason Kingi defended the Upper House as an important shield for county governments.
Muigai raised the issue during a forum held to mark 16 years of the 2010 Constitution, arguing that the National Assembly has become too big and that the Senate’s responsibilities have not matched the role originally planned for it.
“The house is too large. We need to look at it,” he said.
He said the Senate was designed to operate as an Upper House and provide what he described as “elderly supervision” over the National Assembly.
“The Senate is the Upper chamber providing elderly supervision over the National Assembly. That's how we wanted it. That's how we structured it,” he said.
According to Muigai, the intended arrangement was changed during the constitutional-making process after politicians intervened.
“The politicians removed that, and now the Senate literally spend all its time looking for work to do. And the people who have suffered are the governors as a result.”
He argued that the changes have had wider consequences for relations between the national government and counties, particularly because of the uncertainty surrounding the Senate’s place within the constitutional structure.
Muigai said the matter should be part of a wider discussion on whether the institutions created under the 2010 Constitution are still operating in the manner they were originally designed to.
But Kingi offered a different view, defending the Senate’s record since the start of devolution and pointing to its involvement in matters affecting county governments.
The Senate Speaker said the Upper House has played a major part in discussions over how national revenue is shared between the two levels of government.
“You will note that since inception of devolution, because of the fight, the spirited fight by the Senate, the shareable revenue going to the counties has gradually been increasing,” he said.
Kingi also cited the dispute over the classification of roads as an example of the Senate’s efforts to safeguard responsibilities assigned to counties.
He maintained that the Senate remains necessary in ensuring that county governments have a strong voice in decisions that affect them.
At the same time, Kingi admitted that the two Houses need clearer rules to guide their dealings with each other.
“One area that we felt as a Senate need to be, you know, clarity ought to be brought to bear is the mandate of the Senate and the working relationship between the Senate and the National Assembly,” he said.
He said the way Parliament operates should not change depending on who occupies the Speaker’s office.
“We need a clear law that would define how these two houses work,” he said, adding that the Senate had already proposed a constitutional amendment to address the issue.
The discussion also puts the spotlight on the number of lawmakers serving in Parliament and the amount spent on their remuneration.
The National Assembly has 349 members, while the Senate has 67, bringing the total number of legislators in the two Houses to 416.
Under the current Salaries and Remuneration Commission structure, an ordinary MP or senator earns a gross monthly remuneration of Sh739,600.
If the basic gross rate is applied to all 416 legislators, their combined salaries amount to about Sh3.69 billion each year.
That figure does not include the higher remuneration received by Speakers and parliamentary leaders, or other benefits and allowances provided to lawmakers.