Journalists protest outside Parliament on December 3, 2013. FILE PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
Journalists and bloggers will be fined
Sh500,000 or jailed for two years if MPs pass a Bill that seeks to
enhance the powers of the National Assembly and the Senate.
The
Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Bill, 2014, if passed in its
current form, will muzzle the media and cushion senators and MPs from
scrutiny.
The Bill seeks to limit the right of access to Information and freedom of the media.
It
seeks to bar the media from broadcasting, televising and transmitting
the proceedings of Parliament or its committees unless granted
permission by the Speaker or chairperson of the committee.
PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITY
The
Bill, which is now before the National Assembly, provides that no
proceedings or decisions of Parliament or a committee shall be
questioned in court.
It provides for privileges and
immunity of members from legal proceedings and freedom from arrest for
civil debt during a session of Parliament.
Eldas MP
Adan Keynan, who drafted the Bill, said it is meant to safeguard the
powers, privileges and immunity of Parliament and its committees.
The
proposed law states that a person commits an offence if they publish
anything scandalous on Parliament, its committees or its proceedings.
Those found guilty will be fined Sh500,000 or jailed for two years.
SNUB OF TEAM
Witnesses summoned to appear before a committee, but fail to do so, shall be fined up to Sh500,000.
The relevant committee may also order the property of such a witness to be attached or sold to pay the fine.
A
public officer who refuses to produce information or documents
requested by Parliament risks being kicked out of office. If they are
not civil servants, they risk a six-month jail-term
No comments:
Post a Comment