HISTORY OF HOUSE OF SENATE IN KENYA

This post discusses the Senate House of Kenya, from the first senate to the modern, it also discussed the power of the senate and the elected senators.

INTRODUCTION

The Senate of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya, and the upper house of the parliament. The Senate was first established as part of Kenya’s 1963 Constitution.

After being abolished in 1966, the Senate was re-established by Article 93 of the new 2010 Constitution to represent counties’ interests as well as pass legislation concerning counties.

First Senate, 1963–1966

Kenya’s 1963 Constitution established a Senate that consisted of 41 senators elected for six years, with one-third of the members retiring every two years. Timothy Chokwe served as the first speaker of the Senate. The Senate was abolished in 1966, when its membership was combined with that of the House of Representatives to form a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly.

Modern Senate, 2013–present

The 2013 General Election took place on 4 March 2013. Under the new Constitution, which was passed during the 2010 Referendum, the 2013 general election was the first to include the election of Senators representing the 47 newly created counties. They were also the first general elections run by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

According to their share of elected seats, the political parties nominated an additional 16 women. Additional nominations were made for two members representing the youth and two members representing Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWD). The Speaker of the Senate, who is an ex officio member, is elected by the Senators sworn in on the first sitting of the Senate.

Powers

The powers and role of the Senate in Kenya are as follows

• Empowered to represent the interests of the counties and their governments
• Participates in law-making by considering, debating and approving bills concerning counties
• Determines allocation of national revenue among counties.
• Has powers of impeachment over the president, deputy president, county governor, and deputy governors

The Senate consists of 47 members directly elected by their counties, 16 women nominated by the political parties according to their relative strength in the Senate elections, two members to represent the youth, and two members to represent persons with disabilities.

Elected senators