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{
    "id": 1152986,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1152986/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 36,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Kamar)",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 33,
        "legal_name": "Margaret Jepkoech Kamar",
        "slug": "margaret-kamar"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to join you and all Senators in mourning the death of our third President, H.E. Emilio Mwai Kibaki. On behalf of the people of Uasin Gishu County and my family and myself, let me take this opportunity to pass my most sincere condolences to the family of the departed former President. My prayers are with them that they be comforted of the living God at this very difficult time. I am one person who was honoured to work as a Minister under President Mwai Kibaki. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would just say a few things that I learnt from this very committed Kenyan. Mwai Kibaki was a man of few words but very clear words. He had very clear instructions to us as his Cabinet and especially when he dealt with you as an individual discussing issues to do with your docket. One week after my appointment, I had a sitting with President Kibaki then and he gave me one instruction that shaped my being the Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology. That one instruction was that he wanted to expand higher education and being the Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, he asked me--- It was amazing me that he was a very humble President. He would tell you that I have called you because I want to request you to ensure that we expand opportunities in universities in this country. At that time, we had only seven universities and a good number of university colleges. I went back to the Ministry being one week old and gathered information on how to do it. I was very delighted to have a team that was very active and ready to move. We moved because what it required was that we had to change the university law so that we can have one Charter for all the universities, which was a challenge that four former Ministers had faced. I was fortunate because I had just come from the university because the challenges were coming from there. I went back to the President and said I would have to change the law and he said that is exactly what I am expecting you to do; change the law first. We worked on the law and I thought it was going to take a very short time. In excitement, I was telling him that in six months we should be ready. It took me six months to get the laws to Parliament. We had to break down the laws into higher education separate from the science and technology. We came up with a law on higher education, another one on science and technology and a different one on technical training. I went back and asked for more time. The late President agreed to give us more time because he was patient."
}