Kenya’s Darkest Hour. Impunity Entrenches Itself Into The Constitution Of Kenya. Why Is There Deafening Silence On Section 56B? Is There A Conspiracy To Cover Up?
Jul 10th, 2008 by Mars Group Kenya
Kenya’s Darkest Hour. Impunity entrenches itself into the Constitution of Kenya. Why is there deafening silence on Section 56B? Is there a conspiracy to cover up?
Section 56B of the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act which allows the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission to enter into out of court Settlements with corruption suspects for both civil and criminal Proceedings are illegal. Parliament said NO to Section 56B of the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act on September 13th 2007 and the proposed S.56B was deleted.
Chapter III of the Constitution (Section 30-59) vests all national legislative power in the institution of Parliament. We quote Section 30
“The Legislative power of the Republic shall vest in the Parliament of Kenya which shall consist of the President and the National Assembly.”
Only Parliament has the Authority under our Constitution to enact Law. NO ONE ELSE in Kenya has this authority. Since Parliament on 13th September 2007 deleted the proposed S.56B of the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, How does it end up in our laws?. Who put it there and Why? This act is unconstitutional and Criminal. Why is Parliament silent on this? Why is the Government silent on this?.
The use of an ILLEGAL law in the Grand Regency Scandal:
(1)The Pattni Grand Regency Hotel Settlement was pursuant to the illegal Section 56B of the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (April 9th 2008):
(2) The Memorandum of the President refused to enact amnesty for grand Corruption on (September 27th 2007): The memorandum shows that after section 56B was deleted by Parliament on September 13th 2007, the President did not ask for it to be reconsidered – even though he asked for reconsideration by Parliament of several other proposed amendments including e.g. section 56A
(3) The Hansard of the Kenya Parliament (September 13th 2007) shows the deletion of Section 56B at page 3929: There was a full debate attended by the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice and Parliament voted to delete the S.56B amendment. The deletion is the last mention of Section 56B in the Hansard of Parliament to-date.
(4) Order Paper of the Parliament of Kenya – Notice of Motion to delete Section 56B (August 30th 2007): shows that the Committee on the Administration of Justice recommended the deletion of the proposed section 56B. The Chairman was Hon. Paul Muite and its members included the current Speaker Hon. Kenneth Marende. Other members who will certainly recollect what transpired in Parliament in relation to section 56B include, Hon. Cheboi and Hon. Njoki Ndungu.
(5) Statement by the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission following the deletion of section 56B by Parliament (September 18th 2007): shows that the KACC was aware that Parliament had deleted section 56B.
(6) Statement of the President on Goldenberg Commission Report (February 2006):shows that the President has stated his personal commitment to unravel the Goldenberg scam and other Grand Corruption scandals including Anglo Leasing
(7) Parliament order paper 13th September 2007: shows that Parliament considered the deletion of section 56B on 13th September 2007
(8) Kenya Gazette Statute law Miscellaneous Amendments Act 2007:shows that section 56B despite having been deleted by Parliament on September 13th 2007 was published in the Kenya Gazette as having received Presidential Assent. Its commencement date is stated as being October 15th 2007. The question is how was it inserted; by whom; and why?
(9) Hansard of Parliament 4th October 2007: Shows that section 56B had already been deleted at page 4350-4376 and no longer featured in the debate on the President’s Memorandum.
The first beneficiary of an out of court settlement under this illegal section 56B is Kamlesh Pattni the architect of the Goldenberg financial fraud. The settlement signed by Fatuma Sichale, KACC’s Assistant Director, entailed the abandonment of all claims by the Central Bank of Kenya against Kamlesh Pattni in return for the surrender to the KACC of the Grand Regency Hotel. The hotel was subsequently turned over to the Central Bank which has since sold it in controversial circumstances that are under investigation.
The genesis of the stepping aside of the former Minister of Finance is the illegal section 56B of the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act. It therefore should become an aspect of the investigations into the Grand Regency Hotel transactions.
Why would the Government of Kenya and Parliament be silent on an Illegal Law that creates a loophole to immediately revert to the position before the use of the illegal law and thus safeguard the public interest in the Grand Regency hotel?
Has Parliament abdicated its role and duty of making Law through legislation to the Executive?. How will Parliament investigate the Grand Regency Saga if it cannot even spot the fact that the law used in this transaction was not enacted by Parliament?
These are very serious allegations. Serious because the silence can be construed to be a cover up by Parliament and the Executive to allow our Constitution to be abused with Impunity. The people of Kenya demand an immediate clarification and proof on the legality of S.56B, failure to which the people of Kenya will have reached their Darkest Hour; Where Impunity entrenches itself into our Constitution. Imagine what could happen if the same thing happened to the National Accord and Reconciliation Act? Is it not possible that an illegal Amendment to the National Accord and Reconciliation Act could find its way into our laws? The message to the Government and Parliament is that it is time to be serious.
Way Forward
The Attorney General is hereby put on notice that should he not delete section 56B of the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, using his powers under the Revision of Laws Act, he will be subject of a petition to Parliament recommending the constitution of a tribunal to consider the question of immediately removing Amos Wako as Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya, for willful negligence in a matter of such great public importance. This illegal law is the embodiment of impunity which is the bedrock of a system which prefers the interests of looters of public funds over the rights of poor Kenyans. It is sad to read the Hansard of Parliament, and also ironic, and to find that both the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice claimed to speak for the people, yet their subsequent complicity in the making of this illegal law has spawned the greatest corruption scandal of the Grand Coalition Government era, the Motion of Censure of the Minister for Finance and his subsequent resignation, the recommended removal from office of the Director of the National Security Intelligence Service, and the disgrace of the Central Bank governor.
The Media is the people’s watchdog. The media must demand Accountability from Parliament and the Government on behalf of the people of Kenya.
Mwalimu Mati
Marsgroupkenya.org
[...] section 25A is not alone – at the same time in 2007 a similarly suspicious clause (section 56B) was inserted into the Anti Corruption and Economic Crimes Act to provide for the KACC to terminate [...]