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{
    "id": 1211246,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1211246/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 243,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13328,
        "legal_name": "Jeremiah Omboko Milemba",
        "slug": "jeremiah-omboko-milemba"
    },
    "content": "(Emuhaya, ANC). Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this chance to speak on these proposals that were sent to this House by His Excellency the President on constitutional amendments and also amendments on the Standing Orders. The proposals are quite a number, but I think the most sensitive ones are two or three. First, there is a proposal to entrench the NG-CDF and NGAAF into the Constitution. Secondly, there is a proposal for the Senate to get the Senate Oversight Fund. Many amendments and views have been given that we do not separate the Senate from the National Assembly and possibly call it the Parliamentary Oversight Fund. In my view, that will be very good. Many speakers seem to agree on this. However, a number of us seem to differ on the issue of the two-thirds gender rule and how it can be achieved. Hon. Temporary Speaker, in the previous Parliament, the attempt to make sure this House achieves the two-thirds gender rule was tried many times. I remember the many kamukunjis that were organised by the then Leader of the Majority Party, who is now the CS Defence, Hon. Aden Duale. On each occasion, we were unable to achieve that threshold. I also vividly remember the attempts by the women parliamentarians in this Assembly to try and push for it. In fact, one time, they even wore ribbons into the House to show their concern over this matter. So, there has been a continuous fight for the women of Kenya to attain the two-thirds gender rule in Parliament. This has been encompassed by the fact that the Constitution pronounces itself on the composition of the House and the number of women required. Therefore, we have been operating a Parliament which many times we have been worried is unconstitutional. We vividly remember when the Supreme Court pronounced itself on this matter and the country was expectant. People made statements, including the religious leaders and other players asking the President not to dissolve Parliament. It was a very gloomy day and anxiety was all over the country. If the President was to act on the advisory given by the then Chief Justice, Hon. Maraga, then Parliament ought to have closed. I think that advisory is still before the presidency together with other matters. So, this is an issue we must finally confront once and for all. The faster we confront it the better. I want to be one of the early legislators to brave and confront this issue. Maybe the Members who have spoken on this Motion can think of a better way other than what has been raised by the President. If not, we can just adopt the President’s methodology and have enough women in the House. I know by bringing more women in the House it will encourage, motivate and empower those seeking positions. We can also give this proposal a timeline so it will not be there forever as has been proposed. It can be handled the same way we did with the position of County Women Representative. I think a timeline was given to it. I suspect was set to end in 2027, but I stand corrected. So, then, we can evaluate ourselves to see if we achieved anything or not. I know there are fears about how the nominations will be done. People have said how girlfriends and other relatives will be nominated, but we can handle that. Let us brave it and bring women here. So, as we operate in Parliament, at no time shall we do so under the wings of fear that the President can dissolve Parliament anytime. Maybe another petitioner can go to court to seek why the matter that was before Maraga has not been acted upon. We should not live in fear because once we do so, we shall not be an independent institution. This is my take on this particular matter. I am being very brave. It is because I know I qualify, in the next few years, to become the President of this country. We must make decisions that will move us forward. So, we need to bite The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}