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{
    "id": 1218753,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1218753/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 278,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kuria East, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Maisori Kemero",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Many Members of Parliament who have served in Kuria in the past, and any other public servant who has served in Kuria, will tell you that cattle rustling was a big problem for many years in that area. We were fighting and engaging in cattle rustling with the Kipsigis and different sub-tribes of the Maasai. There were probably five different sub-tribes of the Maasai that we were engaging with as well as the Kipsigis. On this other end, the four Kuria clans were engaging within themselves as well as with those in Tanzania. So, it used to be an extremely complex problem. It took the resolve of the people of Kuria themselves to deal with the issue. That was not an easy matter. In 2007, when this matter was very hot, I lost an election because I thought that speaking out against cattle rustling would earn me more points. I lost that election. In 2013, I lost another election because I was the only candidate who was speaking out against cattle rustling. In 2017, we had lost enough lives. More people now thought that maybe this young man had a point and that they should listen to him. I got elected in 2017. I thank the current President because when he came to Kuria in 2017 after the elections and I told him that cattle rustling must end, he supported us when he was the Deputy President at that time. Our leaders must get involved. Leaders of the Pokot, the Turkana and all the people involved in this matter must gain courage to put an end to this menace. If you do not do it – I assure you that I am a living example – forget about getting votes. If you do not tell your people that you do not support cattle rustling, it will continue. My brothers and sisters, that matter will not be solved by external forces. It will not be solved by the Government through the Ministry of Interior and National Administration. You cannot bring tanks to solve it. It will not end. It must come from you. You must reject cattle rustling. Leaders who fear being voted out encourage this siege mentality and get compromised by the very thugs who have no business with peace. They do not want peace. Hon. Temporary Speaker, it may shock you that a raider probably gets only Ksh500 or Ksh1,000 on a cow that would ordinarily fetch Ksh40,000 or Ksh50,000 or Ksh100,000 in the open market. Somebody in-between makes the markup. At the end of it all, the loser is the person who has been raided and lost their cattle. This chain of activities benefits no one. That is why I implore my colleagues to just stand up and say “No” to cattle rustling. It will go away. You must do it yourselves. Whether you are from Pokot or Turkana, just say “No.” Whoever you are, just say “No” to cattle rustling. Those that want to vote for you will do so. You will be surprised to know that in the last five years, many children have been born in my constituency. This is because our mothers can now sleep in Kuria. I have experienced this and I know that if all of us were to take that trajectory, it would solve the problems that we are all going through. I support you, my sister. We should not be experiencing these kinds of problems in this era. In conclusion, the Government should also develop those areas. You cannot withhold development…"
}