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{
    "id": 1044713,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1044713/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 44,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Linturi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 69,
        "legal_name": "Franklin Mithika Linturi",
        "slug": "franklin-linturi"
    },
    "content": "public funds. The reasoning was that we wanted them to run away from the old system where the Kenya African National Union (KANU) or political parties belonged to individuals. So, it is funded from public coffers so that they can be owned by all citizens. You would expect leaders of political parties to be more civilized than they are today. However, they have taken that advantage of the trust we had in them to completely make these political parties tools of dictatorship. This is why we are suffering. If we do not rise as a Parliament, raise these issues and see how we can inform changes to certain legislations, then parliamentary democracy is under attack and the oversight role of Parliament is under attack. When the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act was passed, it was to enable us speak out our minds here, criticize Government and say anything with immunity. That way, you would not watch over your shoulder when discussing or contributing on matters that pertain to the public. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is not happening. MPs are afraid of raising issues because the next day, agencies of oppression that are being used by the current system of Government will come after them. These agencies are the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC). So, Members are not free. If we do not see how to address these issues, we have a problem as a Parliament. Time has come when we must rise up to the mere realities of life and understand, yes, it is true we are democrats. Yesterday, I attended that meeting that you are talking about. The person who was trying to lecture us is a Secretary General (SG) who serves at the behest of the President. As Senators, we are not subject and we do not serve at the pleasure of the President. We recognize the leadership of the Senate as a leadership of the Senate that is supposed to be put in place by Senators. However, when somebody whom we have never seen, a chairman of a party, an SG who does not even, first of all, address the issues that we have raised before--- We conduct a meeting and while there, it is necessary for us to table the documents that were sent here and we find ourselves to be 24 in the room. Ten of the Members refused to sign the resolution because they did not agree with it. We were then told that a list was brought here. How could you have signed a resolution in a meeting you never attended? Mr. Speaker, Sir, Parliament is supposed to act or be seen to be open. One of the ways of trying to open Parliament to the public is by what we did when Hon. Marende was Speaker. He made sure all proceedings were broadcast live and the public would attend. In this case, let us know who came here and who signed these documents for purposes of record. When history is written, people will know some of us said the truth. They will know that despite the oppression, threats, intimidation and blackmail, there are people that can stand up for the truth."
}