Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT BILL, 2012

ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES

Clause

PART I —PRELIMINARY

1—Short title and commencement.

2— Interpretation.

3—Application.

4—Guiding principles.

PART II - ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSUMPTION OF THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT

COMMITTEE

5—Establishment of the Assumption of the Office of President Committee.

6— Functions and powers of the Committee.

7—Sub-committees of the Committee.

8— Procedures of the Committee.

PART III — ARRANGEMENTS FOR ASSUMPTION OF OFFICE BY THE

PRESIDENT-ELECT

9— Security detail.

10—Security briefings.

11—Public officers to provide required information.

PART IV— THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY

12—Swearing-in ceremony.

13—Taking of oath and signing of certificate of inauguration.

14—Handing over of instruments of power and authority.

15—Swearing in of the Deputy President-elect.

16—Inauguration speech.

PART V —MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

17—Security.

18—Succession generally.

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

19—Reports of the Committee.

20—Management of information and records.

21—Amendment of Cap. 110.

22—Regulations.

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT BILL, 2012

A Bill for AN ACT of Parliament to provide for the procedure and ceremony for
the assumption of the Office of President by the President-elect, in accordance
with Article 141 of the Constitution and for connected purposes

ENACTED by the Parliament of Kenya, as follows—

PART I—PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Assumption of the Office of President Act,
2012 and shall come into force upon the announcement of the date of the first
elections under the Constitution.

Interpretation.

2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

"Cabinet Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for
matters relating to internal security;

"certificate of inauguration" means a certificate signed by the President upon being

sworn in;

"Commission" means the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission

established under Article 88 of the Constitution;

"Committee" means the Assumption of the Office of President Committee

established under section 5;

"facilities" include an office, furniture, office machines and equipment, a house and a
vehicle;

"President-elect" means the person elected as President under Article 139 or 140 of
the Constitution and who has not assumed office under Article 141(3) of the
Constitution;

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

"public officer" has the meaning assigned to it under Article 260 of the Constitution.

(2) Despite subsection (1), until after the first general elections under the
Constitution, references in this Act to the expression—

(a) "Cabinet Secretary" shall be construed to mean "Minister";

(b) "Principal Secretary" shall be construed to mean "Permanent Secretary"; and

(c) "Secretary to the Cabinet" shall be construed to mean the "Permanent Secretary,
Secretary to the Cabinet and the Head of Public Service".

Application.

3. The provisions of this Act shall apply —

(a) to the assumption of the Office of President by a President - elect; and

(b) with necessary , modification, to the assumption of the Office of President by the
Deputy President or the Speaker of the National Assembly under Article 146 (2) of
the Constitution.

Guiding principles.

4. In the performance of the functions and exercise of powers under the

Constitution and this Act, the Committee shall act in accordance with Article 141 of
the Constitution and be guided by the values and principles set out in Article 10 of
the Constitution.

PART II - ESTABLISHMENT OF ASSUMPTION OF THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT

COMMITTEE

Establishment of the Assumption of the Office of President Committee.

5. (1) There is established a committee to be known as the Assumption of the

Office of President Committee.

(2) The Committee shall be an ad hoc committee and shall consist of —

(a) the Secretary to the Cabinet who shall be the chairperson;

(b) the Attorney - General;

(c) the Principal Secretary in the ministry responsible for matters relating to internal
security;

(d) the Principal Secretary in the ministry responsible for matters relating to finance;

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

(e) the Principal Secretary in the ministry responsible for matters relating to foreign
affairs;

(f) the Principal Secretary in the ministry responsible for matters relating to
information and communication;

(g) the Principal Secretary in the Ministry for the time being responsible for matters
relating to constitutional affairs;

(h) the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces;

(i) the Director - General of the National Intelligence Service;

(j) the Inspector - General of the National Police Service;

(k) the person in charge of the administration of the affairs of State House;

(l) the Clerk of the National Assembly;

(m) the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary;

(n) three persons nominated by the President -elect;

(o) clerk of the Senate; and

(p) Secretary to the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat, appointed under the

law relating to intergovernmental relations.

(2) For the purposes of the assumption of office of the President elected during the
first general elections under the Constitution, the members of the committee referred
to under paragraphs (o) and (p) shall not constitute the membership of the
Committee.

(3) The chairperson of the Committee shall convene the first meeting of the
Committee at least thirty days before the date of the general elections.

(4) The members of the Committee shall, at the first meeting of the Committee, elect
from among their number, a secretary who shall be responsible for taking minutes
and keeping the records of the Committee.

(5) A vacancy in the membership of the Committee shall not affect the decisions of
the Committee.

(6) The quorum for the conduct of the business at a meeting of the Committee shall
be two thirds of all the members of the Committee.

Functions and powers of the Committee.

6. (1)The functions of the Committee shall be to—

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

(a) facilitate the handing over process by the outgoing President to the President-
elect;

(b) organise for the security of the President-elect;

(c) organise for the necessary facilities and personnel for the President-elect;

(d) co-ordinate the briefings of the President-elect by relevant public officers;

(e) facilitate communication between the outgoing President and the President-elect;

(f) prepare the programme and organise for the swearing in ceremony; and

(g) carry out any other activity necessary for the performance of its functions under
this Act and perform any other function assigned to it under any other written law.

(2) The Committee shall have all powers necessary for the execution of its functions
under the Constitution, this Act and any other written law.

Sub-committees of the Committee.

7. (1) The Committee may from time to time, establish sub-committees for the
better carrying out of its functions under this Act.

(2) The Committee may co-opt into the membership of a sub- committee established
under subsection (1), persons whose knowledge and skills are considered necessary
for the functions of the Committee.

Procedures of the Committee.

8. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Procedures of the Committee

may determine its own procedure.

PART III — ARRANGEMENTS FOR ASSUMPTION OF OFFICE BY THE

PRESIDENT-ELECT

Security detail NO. 24 of 2011

9. Upon the declaration of the final results of a presidential election by the

Commission under Article 138 of the Constitution and section 39 of the Elections Act,
the Committee shall ensure that the President-elect and Deputy President–elect are
accorded adequate security.

Security briefing.

10. The Committee shall ensure that the President-elect under section 8
receives security briefings from the respective national security organs.

Public officers to provide required information.

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

11. (1) The President-elect shall, in consultation with the Committee, carry out
such preparations as may be necessary for the purpose of assuming office.

(2) The President – elect may, in carrying out preparations under subsection (1),
request for information from a public officer as the President-elect may consider
necessary.

(3) A public officer from whom information is requested under subsection (2) shall
provide the information within a reasonable time.

(4) A public officer who fails to comply with the provisions of this section commits an
offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

PART IV— THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY

Swearing –in ceremony.

12. (1) The swearing in of the President - elect shall be conducted in a public
ceremony held in the capital city in accordance with Article 141 of the Constitution.

(2) The Committee shall publish, by notice in the Gazette, the date and place for the
conduct of the swearing-in ceremony.

(3) The day on which the President-elect is sworn in shall be a public holiday.

Taking of oath and signing of certificate of inauguration.

13. (1) The President-elect shall, during the swearing in ceremony, take and
subscribe the oath or affirmation of allegiance and the oath or affirmation for the
execution of the functions of office in accordance with Article 141 of the Constitution.

(2) The oath or affirmation under subsection (1) shall be administered to the
President-elect by the Chief Registrar before the Chief Justice or in the absence of
the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice not earlier than 10.00 am and not later
than 2.00 pm.

(3) Upon taking or subscribing to the oath or affirmation under subsection (1), the
President shall sign a certificate of inauguration in the presence of the Chief Justice
or, in the absence of the Chief Justice, the Deputy Chief Justice.

Handing over of instruments of power and authority.

14. (1) Upon signing the certificate of inauguration, the outgoing President
shall hand over to the President the following instruments of power and authority—

(a) a sword; and

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

(b) the Constitution.

(2)The provisions of this section shall not apply where the incumbent is re-elected
into office.

Swearing in of the Deputy President-elect.

15. The Deputy President-elect shall take and subscribe the oath or
affirmation of allegiance and oath or affirmation for the execution of the functions of
office in accordance with Article 148 of the Constitution.

Inauguration speech.

16. The President shall, upon the swearing in of the Deputy President elect,
give an inauguration speech to the nation.

PART V —MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Security.

17. The Inspector-General of the National Police Service shall ensure the
provision of adequate security during the conduct of the swearing in ceremony.

Succession generally.

18.The day to day functioning of the government before and during the
assumption of office by the President-elect shall be subject to the constitutional
provisions regarding transition and succession of institutions, offices, assets and
liabilities.

Reports of the Committee.

19. (1) The Committee shall, within a period of three months from the date of
the swearing in of the President-elect, cause to be prepared a report on the affairs of
the Committee.

(2) The Committee shall submit to Parliament the report prepared under subsection
(1).

(3) The report shall contain, in respect to the assumption of office by the President-
elect under this Act—

(a)the financial statements of the Committee;

(b)a description of the activities of the Committee;

(c) such other statistical information as the Committee considers appropriate relating
to its mandate; and

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

(d) any other information relating to its functions that the Committee considers
necessary.

(4) The Committee shall cause the report to be published in the Gazette and in such
other manner as the Committee may determine.

Management of information and records.

20. (1) The Committee shall publish and publicize all important information
within its mandate affecting the nation.

(2) A request for information in the public interest by a citizen—

(a) shall be addressed to the chairperson or such other person as the Committee
may for that purpose designate;

(b) may be subject to the payment of a reasonable fee in instances where the
Committee incurs an expense in providing the information; and

(b) may be subject to confidentiality requirements of the Committee.

(3) Subject to Article 35 of the Constitution, the Committee may decline to give
information to an applicant where —

(a) the disclosure of such information is undesirable in public interest;

(b) the information requested is at a deliberative stage by the Committee;

(c) failure of payment of the prescribed fee; or (d) failure of the applicant to satisfy
confidentiality requirements by the Commission.

(4) The right of access to information under Article 35 of the Constitution shall be
limited to the nature and extent specified under this section.

(5) Every member and staff assigned to the Committee shall sign a confidentiality
agreement.

Amendment of Cap.110.

21. The Public Holidays Act is amended in section 2 by inserting the following
new subsection immediately after subsection (4)-

"(5) The day in any year during which a President-elect is sworn in shall be a public
holiday."

Regulations.

22. The Cabinet Secretary may, in consultation with the Committee, make
regulations for the better carrying into effect of the provisions of this Act.

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

MEMORANDUM OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

The principal object of this Bill is to operationalize the provisions of Article 141 of the
Constitution on the procedure and ceremony for the assumption of the Office of
President. It achieves this by making provisions on the requisite arrangements for
assumption of office by the President-elect including the establishment of the
Assumption of the Office of President Committee and providing for the procedure for
assumption of the Office of President by the President-elect.

PART I — provides for the preliminary provisions, the short title, the interpretation of
terms used in the Bill and the application of the Act.

PART II — provides for arrangements to be made for assumption of office by the

President-elect, including the requirement for State and public officers to brief the
President-elect and the provision of necessary temporary facilities including office
space for the President-elect.

PART III — provides for the establishment, composition, functions and powers of the
Assumption of the Office of President Committee.

PART IV— provides for the swearing in ceremony to be conducted in the capital city
in accordance with the Constitution. It provides that the day the swearing in of the
President elect shall be a public holiday. It also provides for the signing of the
certificate of inauguration by the President and the handing over the instruments of
power and authority by the outgoing President to the President. This Part also
provides for the swearing in of the Deputy President-elect.

PART IV —sets out a number of miscellaneous and supplementary provisions.

These include the provision of adequate security during the conduct of the swearing
in ceremony, the amendment of the Public Holidays Act as well as the powers of the
Cabinet Secretary to make regulations under the Act.

The enactment of this Bill shall occasion additional expenditure of public funds which
shall be provided for through the estimates.

Dated the 22nd June, 2012.

MOHAMED YUSUF HAJI,

Acting Minister of State for Provincial

Administration and Internal Security.

Section 2 of the Public Holidays Act which it is proposed to amend-

Public Holidays

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 Assumption of the Office of President Bill, 2012

2. (1) The days specified in Part I of the Schedule shall in every year be kept
as public holidays.

(2) The days specified in Part II of the Schedule shall, in addition to the days
specified in Part I thereof, in every year be public holidays for all persons belonging
to the Islamic faith.

(3) The days specified in Part III of the Schedule shall, in addition to the days
specified in Part I thereof, in every year be public holidays for all persons belonging
to the Hindu faith.

(4) The day in any year during which a general election is held following the
dissolution of Parliament shall be a public holiday.

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