Whenever the role of parliament as an agent of nation-building, especially in fragile developing states is discussed, the wise words of Edmund Burke keep coming. Edmund Burke, a philosopher and a once long serving member of the House of Commons keeps on reminding us that, “parliament is a deliberative assembly of one nation, with one interest”.
On this however, the Kenyan Parliament is yet to prove itself as having the “one interest” for the Nation if recent happenings and utterances are anything to go by. Observers and citizens alike can contend that it has not done itself any favors in safeguarding national interests. In the recent past, the institution has been picked as a battleground to flex political muscles and party superiorities at the expense of public interest. To bring this into perspective, in the last two weeks, this scenario has repeated itself. To be specific, the National Assembly was put into disrepute and came out as an arena of combatants with irreconcilable interests.
It is, therefore, a misnomer when Parliament becomes a House of extreme opinions devoid of consensus. Assuming national interests were the common denominator of our Parliamentarians, then the kind of political posturing and bickering we are witnessing would be minimal or non-existent.
It is agreeable that law is the glue that binds our social contract together. If a situation arises where one segment of the society makes law that suits them in total isolation of the rest, then the balance is tilted and the contract may no longer hold. The dangers of tampering with the social contract may be dire to the extent of throwing Kenya into anarchy.
Therefore, when making the law, all opinions and cadres of the society must be considered. There is no doubt that this was the reason why public participation was made one of Kenya’s national values in the 2010 Constitution. Resultantly, Parliament, as a representative of the people, and the institution that exercises the sovereignty of the people in trust, ought to be the facilitator in bringing this consensus.
Experience has shown us that to make good, effective and inclusive laws, the legislature needs to take time to build consensus. Taking time to do something right for the nation is statesmanship. In the end, when a law favors the interests of one side and oppresses another, not only does one faction lose but the represented.
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