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{
    "id": 1066349,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1066349/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 67,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Malalah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13195,
        "legal_name": "Cleophas Wakhungu Malalah",
        "slug": "cleophas-wakhungu-malalah-2"
    },
    "content": "very important moment and this calls for us, leaders, to participate and contribute in this important debate. I was elected to represent the people of Kakamega County in August, 2017 through my beloved party, ANC. Article 1(2) of the Constitution is clear. It states that: ‘The people may exercise their sovereign power either directly or through their democratically elected representatives.’ These submissions are basically the voice of the people of Kakamega County and the position of my party, ANC. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to make it crystal clear today that my party position is that we do support BBI. We support the constitutional amendment Bill that is before us and that is the position of my party. We have cited various reasons as to why we support this very important document. However, just before I highlight one or two issues that we do take as a focal attention, allow me first to comment on the process of amending a Constitution. The drafters of the 2010 Constitution were cheeky because I wonder how they provided for it. Some of them are seated in this House complaining why we cannot even amend this document and yet they participated in drafting the 2010 Constitution. I wonder why such an important process can come through Parliament and yet we cannot amend the proposals as brought before us. Parliament has been given a ceremonial role in this matter. I wonder why we spent a lot of time committing this very important document to the JLAC Committee. They sat in very expensive hotels in this town trying to consider this matter only for us to be told that we do not have powers to amend even a comma. Mr. Speaker, Sir, nevertheless, I want to commend the JLAC Committee who have interrogated and dissected this document and come up with a very good Report. It is sad that the findings of the JLAC Committee are not going to help this document improve its current value. It is important that in future even as we amend the Constitution, let us look at possible ways in which we can allow Parliament to interrogate and---"
}