The Mountain Journal
Fate of the Tea Amendment Bill 2023 hangs in balance after Speaker Moses Wetangula declared its null and void after Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe during the proceedings failed to declare his interest.
After he failed to declare his interest in the tea sector, he participated in the deliberations related to the controversial tea amendment bill that has caused hue and cry in the industry.
In a petition, lawyer Dr John Omanga acting on behalf of Nyeri tea farmers informed the Speaker that the MP had failed to declare his interests, as he is a member of the board at Theta Tea Factory, KTDA Holding and Majani Insurance Brokers.
Wetangula on Tuesday this week ruled that the Committee of the Whole House on the Tea (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bill No. 1 of 2023) to hold sessions afresh without any reference to the proceedings of 12th March, 2026 on the Bill, at the appropriate time.
Wetangula said failure by the MP to declare directorship in the three companies to the house compromised the debate on the bill and put into question the validity of the proceedings taken on the bill.
“Consequently, he requests that all proceedings on the Tea (Amendment) Bill, 2023, be “declared null and void,” said the Speaker.
He said Gatundu South MP is serving his first term in Parliament,I assume he was not aware that, despite declaring his interest before the Committee on Agriculture and Livestock, he was still required to declare the same interest in the House during its consideration of the Bill.
