The High Court has issued an order blocking the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) from disbursing any financial allocations to the Senate Oversight Fund until a petition filed by nominated senators over the fund is heard and determined.
The nominated senators, who claim to have been discriminated against in the allocation of funds allocation petitioned the PSC after they were excluded from the funds based on a lack of electoral jurisdiction to supervise, hence blocking them from accessing the money.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi agreed with the nominated senators and stated that the decision by the PSC to exclude them from the Senate Oversight Fund is unconstitutional, null, and void.
The judge said the differentiation between elected and nominated senators violates Article 27 of the Constitution, which guards against discrimination.
He further said that he finds no fault in the introduction to facilitate senators carrying out a parliamentary functions falling within the scope of the Parliament’s responsibilities.
The petition arises from funds allocated for Senate Representation Programs and was subsequently christened the Senate Oversight Function Fund, with the mode of utilisation being sharing it out to the elected senators only.
