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{
    "id": 1049426,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1049426/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 135,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Bomachoge Borabu, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Prof.) Zadoc Ogutu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13302,
        "legal_name": "Zadoc Abel Ogutu",
        "slug": "zadoc-abel-ogutu-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to also make some remarks on this amendment Bill. I want to agree with what has been said and what is in the Constitution – that, the purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the democracy of this country is improved. I hope we are making a step by step amendment so that looking forward to years to come, for the generations that are yet to come we should make sure they enjoy the foundation of democracy that this Parliament has contributed. We know that according to Article 1 of the Constitution it is very clear that all sovereign power belongs to the citizens of this country. Mine will be two concerns. Concern number one is about how well in making this amendment we have taken into account people with disability. This is the group of people in Kenya who sometimes have missed participating in constitutional changes and even in voting. Looking through this document, I do not see any amendment that has been proposed to ensure that people with disability are catered for equally, so that their voices and their votes can contribute to the democratization of this country. Even in previous elections the majority of these people were left out because the voting stations were too far or because there were no people to assist them to get to the voting stations. Even when they get to the voting stations they also have challenges. I want to also assume that the majority of people in this country, especially the adults who are illiterate, will also be considered in this category of disadvantaged people. In a system where people’s capacity to make decision is not well considered like we have in Kenya, I think we have a lot of manipulation. This is what we see during elections. This is what we may see during the referendum – people being coerced to participate in a referendum where they hardly understand the issues or where they are hardly capable of contributing to the issues at hand. That is why I join some of the Members of this House who have said that we really need to think on how to promote civic education using the various social media, including the FM radios and other media outlets. Even if we have to use the vernacular FM stations, we must ensure that our people are brought on 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."
}