MPs have removed a clause in the Marriage Bill that they say would have created a legal loophole to allow gay unions.
The deleted provision gave the Cabinet Secretary in charge of justice and legal affairs the power to make regulations on marriage. It allowed the Cabinet Secretary to “make regulations for registration of any other type of marriage not provided for under the (proposed) law.”
Kiharu MP Irungu Kangata, who leads the anti-gay caucus in the National Assembly, described the clause as a major lacuna that would have allowed a Cabinet Secretary to agree to a form of marriage “we Africans may not be agreeable to.”
Mr Samuel Chepkong’a, the head of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, agreed with the idea to delete the clause and said the failure to flag the clause in the team’s report was an oversight on their part.
Although another part of the law describes a marriage as a voluntary union of a man and a woman, the MPs were keen to plug anything that would have provided a legal loophole for gay marriage.
Deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo described the clause as “the most dangerous thing that would have been in the proposed law” had it been allowed to go.
“You can get a rogue CS. You can also get a gay CS,” said Mr Midiwo.Mr Aden Duale, the Majority Leader, said the provision would have served to encourage the growth of “gaysm.”
The Bill enters the last phase of its journey through Parliament this afternoon when MPs vote for its Third Reading.
This will formally mark its passage and approval for onward transmission to the President.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS OF PASSING A BILL INTO LAW:
1. First Reading— Introduction of Bill in Parliament.
2. Second Reading— MPs discuss merits, demerits and what amendments they will introduce.
3. Committee of the Whole House— Each amendment to a clause in the Bill is introduced, debated and voted upon.
4. Third Reading— Committee of the Whole House reports to the Speaker and a final vote is taken for the Bill to be forwarded for assent.
www.doitadigital.com