Over the past three weeks, Kenyans have witnessed the power of ‘Generation Z’—the tech-savvy, social conscious and young folks who rallied to protest against the draconian clauses of the Finance Bill, 2024.

The protests came just weeks after the Senate, the other legislative arm of the national government, voted to mutilate the Conflict of Interest Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 12 of 2023) through atrocious amendments that negated the rule of law and constitutionalism. By removing the sanctions that define conflict of interest and stripping the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) of its implementing authority, the Senate severely weakened the Bill and hindered the fight against corruption.

This was a classic twist of some of the legislators to undermine anti-corruption efforts—much like their insistence on having the Finance Bill, 2024 enacted into law despite resistance from Kenyans. Perhaps, the rallying call in the ‘Gen. Z’-led protest should include pressure to the National Assembly to reject the Senate's amendments and restore the Conflict of Interest Bill to its original form.

The Senate's move is illegal and unconstitutional. It abdicated its role under Article 96 (2) to effectively consider and approve Bills that concern counties, especially those that affect the finances of county governments. Further, its decision to delete provisions that sanction conflict of interest from both the Bill and existing laws, such as the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003, effectively removes any deterrent against state officials conducting business with the government or awarding tenders to relatives.

Additionally, transferring the enforcement role from the EACC to public entities creates a significant conflict of interest as officials will now be responsible for investigating their own misconduct! This decision violates Article 79 of the Constitution which mandates EACC to ensure compliance and enforcement of the provisions of Chapter Six (6) of the Constitution, which outlines the conduct of state officers under Article 75 and restricts certain activities from being undertaken by them.

The deliberate weakening of these provisions by the Senate is unconstitutional and a betrayal of the trust Kenyans have placed in their leaders to uphold integrity and justice. Furthermore, the actions have broader implications.

They jeopardise several pending cases touching on conflict of interest. And, according to EACC, the current corruption cases involving 10 former governors and family members pertain to conflict of interest, proving that this is a common offence whose provisions need to be further bolstered rather than weakened in the law.

The amendments further compromise Kenya's international commitments to combat corruption.