The leader of the majority party in Kenya’s parliament, Kimani Ichung’wah, denied on Wednesday that the lawmakers were defying a court order by conducting public hearings on a bill that aims to provide affordable housing for millions of Kenyans.
Ichung’wah said in a statement that the media reports claiming that parliament was in contempt of court were “pure misreporting and rumour mongering” and that the legislators were acting in accordance with the constitution, which mandates public participation and involvement in legislative business.
He said that the court order issued by the High Court in Kisumu on Dec. 19, 2023, only prohibited the conduct of public participation in the manner prescribed in a notice published in print media on Dec. 9, 2023, which invited the public and stakeholders to submit memoranda on the bill to the National Assembly Departmental Committees on Housing and Finance.
“The orders did not prohibit parliament from conducting any other form of public participation including undertaking public hearings across the various parts of Kenya on the bill, or the ordinary stakeholder engagements with key sectors, experts, workers, employers, informal sector, political parties, civil society and marginalized communities etc.,” Ichung’wah said.
He added that the two committees of the National Assembly intended to conduct public hearings across the country on the bill, which he said was also meant to comply with a previous judgement of the High Court that required the affordable housing framework to be hinged on a comprehensive legal framework.
He said that the case that gave rise to the court order in Kisumu was based on the argument that parliament should conduct adequate and effective public participation, including through creation of awareness on the bill and holding public meetings.
“Further, ironically, the orders of the High Court in Kisumu stand in the way of parliament and executive from complying with the three bench judgement of the High Court on the Affordable Housing Levy as provided for in the Finance Act, 2023, which we have also challenged at the Court of Appeal,” Ichung’wah said.
He said that as parliament awaited the guidance of the courts on these matters, he wanted to put it on record that parliament was not in contempt of court orders.
The Affordable Housing Bill, 2023, seeks to establish a fund that would finance the construction of low-cost housing units for eligible beneficiaries, as well as provide incentives and subsidies for developers and buyers. The bill is part of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s “Big Four” agenda, which also includes universal health care, food security and manufacturing.
