Parliament rejects Constitutional Amendment Bill

The Kenyan parliament on Wednesday rejected a Constitutional Amendment Bill proposed by the government, which was part of a package of measures needed to demonstrate a commitment to tackling corruption and re-open funding flows from the IMF. The Constitutional Amendment Bill failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to allow the re-establishment of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority (KACA), a key condition for the release of US $198 million of IMF support, the ‘Daily Nation’ reported on Thursday. Although the proposed legislation failed to attract the 145 votes needed, it did receive over 50 percent of the votes in the House, and will therefore be voted on for a second time on 14 August by Kenya’s 222 MPs. If the amendment were passed then, parliament would be asked to vote on the Kenya Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Bill, including a controversial clause offering amnesty for crimes of corruption committed before 1997, the report stated. If the bill did not pass second time around, it could not be reintroduced for at least six months.

The original KACA was ruled unconstitutional by Kenyan courts in January, on the basis that it undermined the powers of the Attorney-General and the Police Commissioner. The IMF discontinued aid to Kenya last year because of its failure to fulfil promises on tackling corruption and privatising the economy. Kenya’s annual budget, recently passed by parliament, assumed the government would be able to access the balance of pledges made by foreign donors in the previous financial year, totalling KSh 14.3 billion (US $186 million), the ‘Daily Nation’ reported. With pressure building on its finances, it was expected that the government would push the bills through before the next parliamentary recess.

A coalition of 10 professional and civil society organisations on Monday called on Attorney-General Amos Wako to withdraw the two anti-corruption bills, saying they were flawed and contained some unacceptable provisions. The group cited six “major anomalies” in the Constitutional Amendment Bill and called it unworkable. The organisations also strongly opposed the provision in the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Bill to allow an amnesty for crimes committed before December 1997, and said both bills had the potential for conflict between the Attorney-General and KACA in the execution of their duties.