Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1153035,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1153035/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 85,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wako",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 366,
        "legal_name": "Amos Sitswila Wako",
        "slug": "amos-wako"
    },
    "content": "managed to catch their eyes. I can say that we caught the eye of Tom Mboya and Mwai Kibaki. At that time, we were in Form Three at Alliance High School. We engaged in discussions and I was very impressed that they took in some of our ideas. They thought that they were ideas worth following within KANU. The idea that although you have a KANU youth wing, which is supposed to maintain order and so on, we should also have an aspect of youth who are educated up to Form Four level at that time, which was quite something and those who are in university, who would not only be mentored by KANU, but also give ideas. In other words, there would be a channel through which they can give ideas on how this country should be ruled soon after Independence. Therefore, I was quite happy from that time to get to know Mwai Kibaki. Mr. Speaker, Sir, later on, I came across him when I was the Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya and the Chairman of the Professional Association of East Africa. At that time, the establishment was not very keen on indigenous African Kenyans in the professions. The person who led that idea against Africans, I must say, was the late Sir Charles Njonjo. The only place we could get solace; people who could understand us, was to go to the late President Mwai Kibaki. I am proud to say that I invited him to a few occasions of the Law Society of Kenya to address us. I also invited him a few times to the Professional Association of East Africa to address us and he did not let us down. In other words, he was a friend in Government. That speaks a lot about his contribution, not just as a brilliant Economist, but as a professional. I must say that I admired the late President Mwai Kibaki as an Economist. What people may not know is that I also pursued a degree in Economics at the University of London. I did not get a First Class, but at least, I got Honors. However, I am more known as a lawyer than an economist. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I came to appreciate the late President Mwai Kibaki even more when he became the President. Just before he became the President, for those who were not alive at that time, you will remember seeing the newspapers headlines such as ‘Wako must go with Moi.’ I know one of the scribes of the newspapers is here, and he can attest to that. Wako was to be the first to go. They would name me and other senior Cabinet Ministers who were close to the late President Daniel arap Moi. They would name other senior civil servants, particularly the Commissioner of Police and the Head of Public Service. I was permanent on that list. When he became the President, all of them went save for Amos Wako. I stayed on and served him for close to nine years as the Attorney General. I must say that the late President Mwai Kibaki was a man of his word. You could rely, depend and have faith on his word. Much as the noises were being made at that time, I can disclose today that even before the late President Mwai Kibaki was inaugurated as the President, he was very sick in bed, as you know after the accident. He had just come back from London. I used to meet him and he assured me that we had known each other for many years and he had confidence in my ability. He told me that he knew what I had been doing in Government; I had been a reformer within Government."
}