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{
    "id": 1228567,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1228567/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 56,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am moved and saddened having listened to the agony that has befallen the family of the late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney. It is a collective shame that as a nation, we have let the family of that great Kenyan to be subjected to the kind of suffering that I have heard Sen. Cherarkey convey to the House. Whether we like it or not, in the fullness of time, you will either be a former or the late Senator. That is a fact. When you hear such moving stories of a former great leader like the late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney, it almost makes us shed tears on the Floor of this House. The late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney was a mentor to many of us. I used to say when I grow up, I would like to be as independent-minded as Hon. Jean Marie Seroney. That is the legacy. There are people who slip through this House like snakes because you will never see their footprints. However, the late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney left a record. It is sad hearing that even his own grave wants to be grabbed. That is not the way to treat heroes. If you go to Washington DC, you cannot cross three streets before seeing a street named after one of the great Americans. You will see Lincoln and George Washington somewhere, but here, you do not see anything reminding you about the late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney. It is sad! We do not want to read just about the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and the late Hon. Moi, because some of us do not belong to the Kenyatta’s and the Moi’s. We belong to the late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney generation. Those are the people who have inspired many of us. Mr. Speaker, Sir, what has been brought to the Floor of the House is really sad. I have sat here agonising about the entry point for the House to do something about the agony facing the family of the late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney. May the Almighty God forgive us for the way we have treated that great son of this country. It is sad. I would not even wish that to happen to you when you exit from that seat. For the past one month, as the Chairperson of the Members Welfare Committee, I have been agonising on how to actualise the benefit of our retired Speakers. You will be surprised that one of our retired Speakers, the respected Hon. Kenneth Marende, has written almost 10 letters to us, pleading with the State to reinstate his security, something that he is entitled by law. Mr. Speaker, Sir, you can imagine that after you have retired, instead of us giving you what you legally deserve, because you have occupied the Speaker’s seat, you start sending correspondence to the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to give to you what belongs to you. Not every Kenyan will be lucky to sit where you are siting. So, when you retire, you should be treated with honour. Our former Speakers have never been paid their retirement perks. Therefore, they are almost in that category of mistreatment that the family of the late Hon. Jean Marie Seroney is facing. I do not know when we will ever fix this issue. I do not know whether the Committee will deal with this issue of unlawful arrest and detention. As I speak, there is a police officer who has sworn an affidavit in court, stating that he was harassed and"
}