Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1164107,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1164107/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 34,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "English and Swahili to be able to debate. In the rest of the world, that is not a mandatory requirement. If you go to a country like South Africa, they have more than one national language. You do not have to debate in English in the Parliament of South Africa. You can use Afrikaans or any of the Bantu languages. If you go Europe and United States of America (USA) and all the other countries, English is their mother tongue. Therefore, speaking good English is not an achievement by itself because you were born and brought up speaking it. The problem with us is that we have glorified ability to speak in English to the extent that it is forcing us to say “you must have certain academic qualifications”. If you look at the qualifications of all the other countries, for example, Spain, they speak Spanish. In Italy, they speak Italian. They do not have to worry about ability of their leader to communicate. In Kenya, if we were appreciative enough of the situation we have as country Swahili language, which we can use to communicate. However, because of where we are moving, this minimum academic qualification should be the highest we should ever go and allow Kenyans to make a determination. Madam Temporary Chairperson, today, there is no degree requirement for you to be a Senator. However, this Chamber has 95 per cent degree holders and maybe 50 per cent post-graduate degrees yet the qualification is just post-secondary. If you go the National Assembly, the same applies. More than 90 per cent of the Members there, have degrees. However, it is not written anywhere that you must have a degree. If you go to many of the county assemblies, you will get at least four or five people or a third of the Chamber with university degrees. It means, Kenyans by their own choice during voting will say “no, this person has relevant academic education. We educated this man, let us vote for him”. It should not be an opportunity for us to block others who would have served if they do not have that very high level of qualification. If there is nothing else that should convince anyone, it is what the court said, that you cannot expect that the 3.5 per cent of Kenyans should be the only ones enjoying the rights of the Political Act under Article 38 of the Constitution. Thank you, Madam Temporary Chairperson, I beg to move."
}