This archive report was first published on 20 October 2019.
On October 20, 2019, the Bungoma County Assembly joined the growing list of those that have rejected the Punguza Mizigo Bill. The unanimous rejection came after the Bill was presented in the House for the Second Reading.
The committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, headed by Peter Sindani, had earlier recommended the rejection of the Bill. MCAs argued that it interfered with quality political representation by proposing a reduction in the number of constituencies.
They also faulted the proponents of the Bill for doing away with the gains achieved in ensuring there was gender balance in political representation. The MCAs said it was wrong for the Bill to propose that the nomination of women to Parliament be stopped.
Additionally, they argued that if the number of MPs was reduced, those who would miss out on parliamentary seats would go for ward representation.
At the same time, the MCAs voted to save Water and Environment Executive Renson Makheti from impeachment. The ward representatives in support of the impeachment garnered 19 votes, losing by just one vote in their bid to force the assembly to launch Mr Makheti’s impeachment process.
