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"id": 122091,
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"content": "on a chest-thumping spree across the country, after we had voted in this House, telling Kenyans: âWhat we want is a special tribunal.â After some time, the same persons changed their positions and said: âNo, we do not want a special tribunal. We want The Hague, because The Hague will take hundreds of years to prosecute these cases.â Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the same Ministers went to State House for a Grand Coalition Cabinet meeting, where they said: âWe do not want a special tribunal or The Hague. We want the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC)â. After that meeting, they organised a fantastic Press Conference that was addressed by both the President and the Prime Minister. Where are we taking the country? The same persons are today saying that they want both The Hague and special local tribunal options. What are they telling Kenyans? Taking this country round in circles is a clear demonstration of lack of goodwill. The best laws in the country, and in the world, will get nowhere when they are not clothed in impeccable goodwill. Since there is no cloth that is clean enough to fit the description of goodwill in this particular case, I submit that, for the benefit of history, they must be taken to The Hague, so that the âsmall fishâ can realise that this Parliament is not using this opportunity to silence them through our collective representation; so that after we have created a âbushâ in which the âbig fishâ will hide, we start playing to the gallery by having âsmall peopleâ arraigned in court in the name of making them to serve as an example to the rest of Kenyans. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Parliament must, therefore, desist from joining in the competition, with the Cabinet, for bad manners. Parliament must not compete with the Cabinet in indecisiveness. We must not compete with the Cabinet in showing callousness in respect of those who died, those who lost their loved ones, and those who lost their livelihood and homes. We must not, as Parliament, join in demonstrating callousness in respect of all those who have lost their pride of living in a community of functioning nations of the world. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we must have a substantive reason to oppose this Bill. We should demonstrate to the two principals; the President and the Prime Minister that this House does not engage in double-speak the way they have been doing on this issue. We must speak in one voice. The issue of double- speak is not here. We must also remind ourselves that this Special Tribunal would operate within the context of the current Constitution. If, maybe, we have promulgated the new Constitution, then one would imagine a situation where a new scenario would obtain. But not in the current Constitution! Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having said all the above, I think Members should find solace in the fact that trial of ordinary Kenyans has never been a problem in this country. Even small people in Kakamega who steal chicken always go before the magistrate and end up in Shikusa Prison in Kakamega for five years. Trying small people has never been a problem in this country. Therefore, if trying small people is not a problem in this country, then we should use the existing criminal judicial system to address the so called small offenders of the post-election violence. Finally, I would like to refer to Section 11 of this Bill where it contemplates in Sub-section 3(ii) a situation whereby, under the current Constitution, you arrest the Head of State while he is in office. Section 11(3) (ii) says:-"
}