Senators from Cord and Jubilee demonstrated a great spirit which majority of Kenyans have been yearning for from elected leaders. It was commendable to see our Senators walk hand-in-hand with their Speaker Ekwe Ethuro, to challenge the President for assenting into law the revenue allocation bill, which will drastically reduce the funds allocated for development in the Counties; therefore derailing devolution as provided in the current constitution.

The Senators have conducted themselves with maturity, dignity and decorum compared to Parliamentarians. Forging a working partnership with County Governors on devolution has made Senators score high marks. Indeed, we can bank on them to protect the common interests of Kenyans if they continue with the current spirit unwaveringly.

Holding rallies throughout the Country by Senators is likely to send shivers to the infantile Jubilee government. This is because; nobody knows how the rallies will impact upon the national psyche.

Senators are in one accord as pertains the petition they lodged at the Supreme Court challenging President Kenyatta’s assent to the Revenue Bill. This may not augur well for the President who seems to give more credence to parliament which is in a supremacy battle with the Senate, besides being dominated by mistrust and partisanship. 

Even though the Senate Majority leader, Kithuri Kindiki, clarified that the petition was merely seeking interpretation and clarity on the law, the fact of the matter is, it’s the President who is being sued for violating the constitution. 

Indeed, devolution was the clarion of Cord during and after the campaigns and it remains the most admirable subject to the Kenyan majority. In fact, the Cord leader, Raila Odinga and the Senate majority leader did appeal to the President not to assent to the contentious bill.

People-power can be lethal even to powerful governments. Tunisia and Egypt bear witness to this. No government is immune to popular uprising. The challenges of poverty, the wide gap between the haves and have not, youth unemployment, skyrocketing of prices of essential goods now that a 16% VAT has been introduced on essential commodities can force citizens to go to the extreme. 

The Chief Executive needs to take a neutral line when dealing with legislators. Since he took office, he has appeared to gravitate towards MPs more than Senators and yet MPs have become a disgrace to the nation for their unrealistic demands for salary hikes.

The Senators are angry, Governors are angry; majority of the Kenyan especially the poor are angry and hungry. The President should avoid being seen as an enemy of devolution and therefore against the implementation of the constitution.

By Joseph Lister Nyaringo
Atlanta, Georgia.