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"id": 1569132,
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"type": "scene",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "(Question put and negatived)"
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"id": 1569133,
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"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Members, that vote invalidates the inclusion of Order No.13 on the Order Paper. Consequently, Order No.13 is hereby struck out from the Order Paper. It is now time for me to grant the House approximately 30 minutes to pay tribute to one of the greatest sons of this country in the literary world, the late Prof. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, whose books, I must say, I have personally read, each and every one of them, except, of course, those written in the Kikuyu language. I have read all those written in English. I hope each one of you has done the same. I now invite the Leader of the Majority Party to lead the House in paying tribute. I propose that we allow him five minutes and thereafter, the rest of the Members will each have two minutes."
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{
"id": 1569134,
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"content": "TRIBUTE TO THE LATE NGUGI WA THIONG’O"
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{
"id": 1569135,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569135/?format=api",
"text_counter": 90,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to pay tribute, as you rightly said, to one of the greatest sons of our nation, and, indeed, also a great son of my home county, Kiambu. Notably, he was also an alumnus of a certain school, and when I speak of this school, I refer to the one he attended from the year 1955 to around 1959 before proceeding to Makerere University. Hon. Speaker, Hon. Otiende Amollo will also be aware of the school I am referring to, which is not Maranda High School, but The Alliance High School. He went to Makerere University, where he started his writing career and did exemplary well writing his first two novels in English. The first novel was ‘Weep Not Child’, which he published in 1964. Hon. Speaker, it is notable that this was around the time we became a Republic. He graduated from university in 1963, when this country was gaining independence. It is notable to note that Ngugi wa Thiong'o says and recalls in his writing how his village, Kamirithu in Limuru, where he was born, was razed down by the colonial masters. He went to Alliance High School. After his first term in school, he went back home and found the entire village razed to The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1569136,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569136/?format=api",
"text_counter": 91,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
"speaker": null,
"content": "the ground. Probably, this is what provoked him to, later in life, around 1967 to 1970, drop the name James Ngugi and adopt his name as we know it today – Ngugi wa Thiong'o. We pay tribute to this great man, a writer who not only taught literature and English language in many universities in Africa, beginning with his alma mater, Makerere University and the University of Nairobi back at home before he was imprisoned. He also taught at great universities like Yale University in the United States of America and Northwestern University, where he was a guest lecturer. He therefore contributed immensely not just to the growth of literature but also to the growth of African languages. I heard you say that you have read all his novels except the ones he wrote in Gikuyu, like Ngaahika ndeenda, meaning ‘I will marry when I want’; and Caitaani Mūtharaba-Inī, which means devil on the cross, which was later translated into English. You may have had the opportunity to read these novels, Hon. Speaker. Ngugi wa Thiong'o dropped his English name, James, and adopted his Kikuyu name, Ngugi wa Thiong'o. He also began to write in the Kikuyu language not because he was a tribalist but because he was such a nationalist. When he was sent to detention for a year in the 1970s by the past regime, he was imprisoned with many other political prisoners who were not necessarily of Kikuyu descent. He lived on to fight for justice and equality life in Kenya, irrespective of where he came from. He not only taught students from across the world from different backgrounds, but his associations in the literary world also speak volumes about the man that Ngugi wa Thiong'o was. He valued his ancestry and background as a Kikuyu from Limuru but he never allowed that to be anything to be used to lord it over others or even believe that there was a community that was greater than the other. He used African languages thus motivating and encouraged many other African writers to write in their mother tongues. This is something for which we pay so much tribute to him – not just his contributions in academia but also as a political thinker who shaped the thinking of many African students and many indigenous communities around the world, as he taught in many universities around the world. Therefore, I pay my tribute to this great son of Kenya, an old boy of my former school, the Alliance High School. He is also a great son of the County of Kiambu and my neighbouring Constituency, Limuru. The Member for Limuru is here. I wish they will consider the cultural theatre that was at Kamirithu to be further developed into a cultural centre for Kiambu County, for our country…"
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{
"id": 1569137,
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"text_counter": 92,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Time up. Hon. Members, the screen is full. I found it full and, therefore, it could not have been for this matter. Therefore, for those who will speak, I will request a show of hands. Every time a Member finishes, you do so. Hon. Otiende Amollo."
},
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"id": 1569138,
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"text_counter": 93,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Rarieda, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I take this opportunity to eulogise the late Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o. He demonstrated defiance, first in terms of name. He had the courage to drop what was called his Christian name. Secondly, the idea of writing in vernacular, which at the time many people frowned upon. Ngugi wa Thiong'o shaped the literary thinking of virtually every other person living right now, including those who are older than him, but definitely more so those who are younger than him. Many of us have become what we are because we started reading Ngugi wa Thiong'o from primary school. Ngugi, unfortunately, remains one of those whose intellect may not have been shared in his later life because of political intolerance. There is a long list of his contemporaries who had to flee the country at the time, including the late Professor Ali Mazrui, the late Professor Shadrack Gutto in South Africa, and many others. His life is a lesson that we must have some level of political tolerance with even those with whom we do not agree because a lot of times we have them benefit others. These are giants who ended up benefiting others in other countries. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1569139,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569139/?format=api",
"text_counter": 94,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Rarieda, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Otiende Amollo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Even though Ngugi wa Thiong'o may not have won the Nobel Peace Prize, he remains a towering giant in East Africa, Africa and in the world like no other. What we should do is name something serious in this country in honour of Ngugi wa Thiong'o. We should not just name everything after politicians. He is someone who deserves to be remembered."
},
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"id": 1569140,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1569140/?format=api",
"text_counter": 95,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Omboko Milemba."
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"id": 1569141,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Emuhaya, ANC",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I also take this opportunity to eulogise Ngugi wa Thiong'o; a great writer who influenced many of the readers of the time and the children. Young people would compete on how many books by Ngugi and other African writers they would have read during that particular time. What I find quite strong about Ngugi is that he had to compete with very good writers from West Africa. In that particular period of the 1980s and 1970s, West African writers like Chinua Achebe, and Alechi Amadi, the author of The Concubine, as well as Ama Ata Aidoo, among others, were doing very well. Ngugi wa Thiong’o came out very strongly from the East African region to also compete very competitively with the West African writers, and he was a celebrity among the East African people. Therefore, he was one of the greatest literary writers of Africa. Another thing I find very strong about him is the fact that he wrote about class struggles at a time when nobody wanted to tolerate the politics of class struggle, which remains with us to-date. That is partly why he was imprisoned and subsequently fled the country."
}
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