Busia senator Okiya Omtatah has filed an application to cross-examine Senate Speaker Amason Kingi on his affidavit on Finance Bill 2023.
He claims that Kingi’s declaration contains speculative assertions.
“The timelines apparent in the affidavit conflict with what actually happened in terms of the consideration of the Finance Bill, 2023,” Omtatah argues.
Senator Omtatah has told the Court that cross-examination of the evidence submitted by Kingi is absolutely necessary for the proper decision of the petition, adding that a letter from the speaker does not negate the constitutional requirement for concurrence by the two Houses of Parliament on Bills, including whether they affect counties and their governments.
“Among the evidence the petitioners presented was a legally very sound letter from the Speaker of the Senate, expressing the Senate’s and his concern that the Bill had not undergone the mandatory concurrence of the two Speakers of Parliament as required by Article 110(3) of the Constitution,” reads court documents.
Omtatah contended that the letter raises the question of whether it is clandestine and exclusively at the discretion of the two Speakers, and at what point the two Houses are regarded to have consented.
Omtatah filed a lawsuit in court last Monday, and the judge temporarily halted the implementation of Finance Act 2023.
The case is set to be mentioned tomorrow for further directions.
