House passes motion to deploy KDF to Tana Delta

MPs in the newly refurbished Chambers during the official opening at Parliament Buildings August 7, 2012. Parliament has passed a motion urging President Kibaki to deploy Kenya Defence Forces to quell clashes that have claimed 109 lives in the Tana Delta September 12, 2012   

By James kiama

 Posted  Wednesday, September 12  2012

In Summary

• Parliament approves motion urging President Kibaki to deploy Kenya Defence Forces to Tana Delta.
• Motion was sponsored by Garsen MP Danson Mungatana and his Bura counterpart Addi Nuh.
• Attorney General Githu Muigai says Parliament has no authority to order the deployment of KDF to Tana River.

On the advice of Attorney General Prof Githu Muigai and an amendment by an MP, Parliament will now have to wait for the President to deploy the Kenya Defence Forces to Tana Delta to restore law and order.

Prof Muigai said Parliament would be usurping the President’s role by approving the deployment of the military.

He said, legally, Parliament should only be asked to approve a deployment of the forces rather than initiate it.

This prompted the introduction of the amendment by Fafi MP Adan Sugow to change the crucial word in the motion from “approves” to “urges”.  

This means that if the decision is made, the House would be asked for its approval in the same manner it did with the deployment of the KDF to Somalia to fight Al Shabaab.

The debate was punctuated with arguments over the role of Parliament, the origin of the clashes and whether it would be right to have the military tackle internal aggression.