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{
    "id": 1129792,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1129792/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 21,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wish to, first of all join you in congratulating Sen (Dr.) Mwaura for his readmission back to the Senate. I also want to congratulate you for capturing the exact position of the law and the Constitution. I congratulate the office of the Speaker for obeying the interim court orders that restrained the admission of other parties that were nominated to come to this Chamber. Why I want to really appreciate this; is a celebration of the rule of law and that the Speaker’s priority in this Chamber is to protect the Constitution and your colleagues in this House. We may have disagreed on other things in the past but on this, you got it extremely right. If you had not obeyed the initial court order, we would not be here today discussing this particular court order because it could have been extremely difficult for Sen (Dr.) Mwaura to get back his rights. In his absence, you know Sen (Dr.) Mwaura has lost a lot. He has suffered - I am speaking as a person who was part and parcel of his legal team - not just the financial consequences of defending his rights but also psychological and mental torture. Having to go through very difficult situations; abruptly removed from the Senate, he has obligation to his family and constituency. Persons with disability felt very disappointed. His financial obligations and commitments were suddenly also disrupted. You know no Senator here--- I have said this before, maybe 99 per cent of Senators in this House earn less than Kshs20,000 because they have committed all their salaries to mortgages. To find yourself in a situation where the bank is asking you to pay back money from your pocket abruptly at some point, that is very torturous. More importantly, the court has restored the sanity in the political party. I have read the judgement briefly and the Judge was very clear and categorical that it was discriminatory and so admitted by the Secretary-General of the Jubilee Party, that it is true that other political players in this Chamber including myself have supported other parties like I support the United Democratic Alliance (UDA). It was captured properly that some Members of this House went to campaign for Jubilee and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) in Kibera and have been associated with the parties, including the President himself and the Secretary- General. Out of sheer madness and total discrimination, the party picked the weakest, once they realized that this is a person with disability, can easily be pried on and easy to get. They also did the same to women nominated Senators who survived the political party dispute tribunal through a court order. They would not be here, including Sen. Waqo, Sen. Omanga, Sen. Iman, Sen. Seneta and the late Sen. Prengei. None of these Senators would have been Senators had it not been for court orders to safeguard and protect them. 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."
}