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{
    "id": 109015,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/109015/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 1113,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Raila",
    "speaker_title": "The Prime Minister",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 195,
        "legal_name": "Raila Amolo Odinga",
        "slug": "raila-odinga"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. We have sat here with His Excellency the President, quietly listening to contributions by hon. Members. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to begin by congratulating hon. Members for making history by making very passionate debate on this subject. The fact that this debate is taking place today, on April 1st, “fools day”, does not mean that we are fooling anybody. This event is historic for a number of reasons. One, it is taking place in this Chamber here because this is the Chamber where the Lancaster House Constitution was domesticated. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am very nostalgic standing here, because in 1968, I sat up there in the gallery as a young boy to see eight Members of Parliament who were Africans sitting on the other side and this other side occupied by the colonial masters. So this country has come a long way. The Lancaster House Constitution was amended so many times once it was brought here, because it was negotiated. The understanding was that “we take this and when we get home, we will change it to suit our conditions and circumstances.” Over the last few days, millions of Kenyans have been riveted on their TV screens, watching the debate in this House. Kenyans have also participated in this debate during these last few days. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to remind the hon. Members once again that I have been through this exercise for a long time. Last time when we were discussing the amendment to the Constitution and the Act, we were conscious of the fact that last time round, this process was more or less sabotaged in the House. That is the reason why the Act and even the constitutional amendment was drafted the way it was drafted. But, ultimately, the people of Kenya will have a chance to democratically decide what kind of constitution they want. We had agreed that this kind of review will only deal with the contentious issues which had arisen at the Bomas of Kenya and which made it impossible for us to continue with this process. At that time, it was identified that this would be the Executive, the Legislature or the people’s representation and the devolution chapters. Some of the chapters in this Draft Constitution were lifted the way they were agreed upon at the Bomas of Kenya. Of course, hon. Members were free to propose any other amendment they wanted. However, I want us to understand that we are part and parcel of a greater Kenyan nation of 40"
}