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{
    "id": 1095337,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1095337/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 196,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Yatta, Independent",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Charles Kilonzo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 46,
        "legal_name": "Charles Mutavi Kilonzo",
        "slug": "charles-kilonzo"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for granting me this opportunity. In the morning, the Member for Kamkunji, Hon. Yusuf, did alert the House of the passing on of Hon. George Gregory Nthenge who was a Member of this House for very many years. We had requested you to afford this House more time to enable us to recognise the role Hon. George played in this country. First, I want to pass my condolences and those of my constituents to the family. Hon. George Nthenge was judged an icon of Kenya’s Independence struggle. He was in the league of the founding fathers of this country and the league of the people who fought for democracy in this country. He was the last surviving Lancaster House politician after the passing on of our second President, Mzee Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. He was one of the authors of Kenya's first Constitution and part of the Lancaster team that fought for Kenya's freedom. He served as a member of the Legislative Council of Kenya (LEGCO) between 1907 and 1963 and this represented the larger area of the then Machakos District, which includes the current Machakos and Makueni counties. He also served as a Member of Parliament representing what used to be called Imenti South Constituency in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. During the era of multi-party politics, this is the time you could tell who the real men were, very few men had the guts to stand against the Kenya African National Union (KANU). He was among those leaders because he was a democrat. He was elected in 1992 to represent Kamukunji Constituency. He was an architect of the second liberation. He was a founding member of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD). This Mzee is a respected elder, a statesman, a true democrat, a man who loved his country. During that time, Members of Parliament were basically paid allowances. It is a lesson for us to know that there is life after Parliament. At the age of 80s, Hon. Mzee Nthenge was still doing business because he needed to survive. He was a visitor and a commoner once in a while in our restaurant. One strange thing about Hon. Nthenge is that he would not accept any Member to buy him lunch or a cup of tea. I had the opportunity to know him because he was my dad's and also my clansman. On a few occasions he would accept to take lunch from me. Those who were there will remember one of the worst accidents in this country on 9th November 1978. This Mzee lost nine children plus his wife in a single accident. It has been the worst accident involving a family to date. And there is something which he did. Because he could not attend the funeral of his children, he said, “There is no point of keeping them long, bury my family within two days.” Nowadays we have made funerals a commercial enterprise. He was not 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."
}