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{
    "id": 1066654,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1066654/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 92,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "One of the greatest advantages of this Motion, and I totally understand the Senate Business Committee--- The reason they brought the Motion without the names is that every time a Motion is brought with the names and it is defeated, the integrity of the individual Senators who are in the Motion is questioned. This is because out there, the public will conclude that the reason we did not go the committee way is because it was biased and, therefore, there was an outright decision of the Senate to say, “we will not go to the committee”. The advantage with this one is that if the Senate decides that we are not going to committee, then nobody suffers any prejudice. No Member of the Senate will feel like they are being disenfranchised or their name is being besmirched outside there. The other thing that I would like to say is that if the House decides that we are going to Plenary - because the House is supreme and can make that decision - we will now have to think about how to hold that Plenary in the current pandemic situation. It will be that as the Speaker and Chair of the House, you have to consult with your brother in the National Assembly because maybe the National Assembly Chamber would be a better venue for us, so that we can exercise social distance even as we make our decision about whether or not to impeach the Governor. Either way, we must find ways of dealing, if it is Plenary or committee because both ways have their advantages. I want to commend the Senate Majority Leader here and the Senate Business Committee for taking a very ingenious decision of bringing the Motion without the names because if we throw out the Motion, none of the Senators will feel that we are targeting them. If we decide to use the committee method, I totally agree with Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. when he said that let us go a more liberal and democratic way, where the Majority side will sit down, and in the Majority side we have two camps. We will go and make our decision and say each camp will give two or three people. It is common knowledge in the public. Even the Minority side will also sit in the same manner. I am completely touched by the speech of the Senate Minority Leader, Sen. James Orengo, and I wish he were here. As I said, he played a role for me to serve in the Taskforce on devolved governments, and that is why I made a decision to run for Senate. Even when I studied Law, Sen. Orengo was one of the people that I looked up to. I am extremely impressed by what he said here. It is that kind of conviction that will help us to make decisions that are for posterity. It will help us to look even at the case of Wajir, not with the eyes that have concluded that the Governor is guilty. Some people walked up to me and said: “That guy is guilty, he must go home. The people of Wajir have said that he must go home.” That is not the duty of the people of Wajir. This House---, as the Speaker communicated, is for us to look at the facts. If the facts say we must convict, we must convict. In the OJ Simpson trial, the issue was whether the gloves that were found at the scene were actually for OJ Simpson and so, at the trial he was told to try on the gloves and the gloves did not fit. The lawyer said: “If it does not fit, you must acquit.” It is our duty here to look at the facts and evidence, and make a conclusion that will make the people of Wajir and this Republic proud of the Senate. We should not have preconceived positions and prejudices. We must conduct a trial that will make everybody proud of this Senate. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}