MPs shoot down contentious Mung Beans Bill, 2022

During the plenary session, a majority of legislators voted against the contentious Bill which harbored unsavory clauses forcing a 30-day mediation process to determine its fate.

A mediation committee will now be appointed by Speakers Moses Wetangula (National Assembly) and Amason Kingi (Senate) who will choose an equal number of members from both Houses.

The committee will be tasked to come up with an agreed version of the Bill within 30 days and then table a report in both Houses.

"If both Houses approve the Report of the mediation committee and the mediated version of the Bill, the Bill is deemed to have been passed," read part of a statement from Parliament.

The Bill was sponsored by Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua and was passed in the Senate before being referred to the National Assembly.

It seeks to facilitate and develop a framework that will regulate and promote the mung bean industry in Kenya and increase its monetary value.

The Bill bars the sale of the beans, colloquially known as Ndengu, without obtaining a license from an individual's county government.

Contravening the aforesaid provision will be considered as committing an offence and any found persons will be liable to pay a fine of not exceeding Ksh.1 million or face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

Likewise, the Bill dictates that the licenses shall be issued by appointed County Executive Committees (CECs) consisting of a chairperson, one person representing growers of mung beans in the respective county and 3 public officers in the agriculture department.

Every member shall also be required to maintain a register of all mung bean growers registered in the respective county specifying; the name of the grower, the location, size and parcel number of the land on which the mung bean is grown and the variety of mung bean grown.

Each county is however given the liberty to determine the criteria for the registration of a grower operating in their county.

Amid escalating uproar, Senator Wambua disputed claims that all Kenyans will need to obtain a license to grow the beans, saying that only persons or entities that intend to market, process, or engage in large-scale trading of mung beans and related products will require licenses.

He further underscored that the Bill requires only the small and medium-sized mung bean farmers to register with the relevant County Executive Committee (CEC) member similar to the registration practice of tea and coffee farmers.