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{
"id": 1215473,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1215473/?format=api",
"text_counter": 282,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wambua",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13199,
"legal_name": "Enoch Kiio Wambua",
"slug": "enoch-kiio-wambua"
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"content": "I am not a lawyer. I have never attended a law class. However, I have taken the liberty to study the Standing Orders. I cannot pretend or claim to understand these Standing Orders better than you do. My understanding of the Standing Orders of the Senate is that the Speaker of the Senate, on matters of political leadership, has no ruling to make whatsoever. That is my understanding and plain reading of the Standing Orders. Once either side of the Senate; either the Majority or the Minority, follow the procedure of changing the leadership, the only duty that the Speaker has is to communicate that change of leadership. What happened in the course of the last two weeks and now the third week, I urge you to reject this invitation. We, and I say “we” very deliberately, are inviting you to be a judge on matters political leadership and to make a ruling on a matter that you have absolutely nothing to do with apart from just communicating and satisfying yourself that the side that makes any changes has followed the Standing Orders. Mr. Speaker, Sir, history will be written one day. I hope it will not be said that when the Speaker, Rt Hon. Kingi, presided over the Senate of the Republic of Kenya, that is the time that the rain started beating the Senate of the Republic of Kenya. Yesterday, the Majority side - and we respect them - made a decision to change their leadership in their political party. We have absolutely nothing to do with that; it is their decision. We cannot lecture them on that. If it were left for me to say, I would have said “Perhaps, Sen. Veronica Maina has done a good job, let her continue doing what she has been doing,” but I have nothing to do with that. Why is it that when the leadership of the Minority has followed the Standing Orders - as you have reprimanded all of us to do and we have complied with every provision, comma and sentence in these Standing Orders - the Majority Side wants you to make a ruling on that decision? Mr. Speaker, Sir, as Sen. Sifuna said, we have serious issues facing this country. In fact, when the people who elected us to this Senate see us wrangling, fighting and shouting over the leadership of the Minority side, they wonder what kind of leaders they elected to the Senate. People are going without food. Today, when I was getting in, a certain Mzee called me from Kitui County and said that his children have gone without food for two days and that he wants me to find a way of sending something, so that he can buy food. That is a call for leadership. As I conclude on this matter of the leadership of the Minority side, I urge you, please, to refuse and reject the invitation to play any role in the determination of who becomes what on either side of the House. Mr. Speaker, Sir, lastly, when we sat here and decided that we wanted to change the leadership of our side and we decided to replace Sen. Dullo, the Senator for Isiolo County with the Senator for Narok County, Sen. Olekina, whatever happened on the Floor of this House is highly regrettable."
}