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{
    "id": 1192434,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1192434/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 168,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitutu Masaba, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Clive Gisairo",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I stand as a Member of Parliament who has actually lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the last 14 years. First of all, I do not understand when some Members talk about an exit strategy. Our armed forces are not going to war, they are going on a peace keeping mission. An exit strategy is required when we go to war. This is different, we are just going to assist a friendly nation attain peace. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the question we should be asking is where our forces are going to be stationed because DRC is a vast county. The war in Congo is mainly centred in the Kivu region, Beituri, Beni Belt. What is our interest around that area? We have investments in the banking sector. Kenya is there in the banking sector through Equity Bank and very soon Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB). Equity Bank took over Banque Commercial Du Congo (BCDC), a bank mainly within the major towns of Goma, Lubumbashi, Kinshasa and Kisangani. There is no war in those areas. So, we need to say that our peace keeping mission is mainly going to assist a friendly nation attain stability. But not to protect our business interests because our business interests are not at risk. As a friendly nation, we need to draw rules on what our forces will be doing there so that we do not sour an already good relationship. We should not mess up the relationship. We have very many Kenyans living in DRC. I have been there for 14 years and it is generally a very friendly nation to Kenya. So, sending our peace keeping forces there is not a bad thing, but we need to have the rules. What exactly will be the mandate of our forces? What will be their limitation? What will they be there to do and are we sure that after the six months we will need them back home? The DRC has been having instability within that region for very many years. Are we saying that within 6 months the Kenyan Forces would have done some magic and sorted out the problem? The answer is no. So, let us present facts and say that we are going there until the unforeseeable future as long as Kenya will have interests of protecting and assisting a friendly nation achieve a peaceful and a cohesive country called the DRC. I listened to the Mover of the Motion, the Chairperson. You can lease land in DRC, it is not correct to say you cannot. As Kenyans, we can go to DRC and invest, but let us not mess that up by sending soldiers without clear guidelines on what they are supposed to do. This is because the moment that happens, we will have a country that will say that we are interfering in their internal matters. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I support sending our forces there. I support the Motion, but clearly let this House or the Departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations set the guidelines for our troops. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}