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{
    "id": 1236221,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1236221/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 299,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kathiani, WDM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Robert Mbui",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity. First, I would like to thank the Mover for coming up with this Motion because it is something we need to talk about. As I thank him, I want to mention that he should not have become tribal because he kind of connected me with this, though he has apologised. I was shocked because of the photos we saw of very malnourished Kenyans who were hoodwinked into joining this cult. I was also shocked to see videos circulating on social media of young children who were rubbishing education and even medical care saying it was not God’s plan. Mostly, I am shocked at the number of people buried in those shallow graves. Obviously, all these activities cannot be godly. In my opinion they are purely satanic. When we talk religion, we must be careful not to use the name of God for certain ungodly acts. I have been asking myself, since this started what exactly made Kenyans gullible to this level? In my opinion I realised three things. One, I think Kenyans are desperate. Two, our level of education or training is not very good. Three, the level of poverty. Hon. Temporary Speaker, we must analyse what has been happening because of the problems Kenyans are facing. There are those religious leaders who have been taking advantage of our citizens. If we leave this one that has gone to the extremes, there are very many preachers that are getting rich at the expense of very poor Kenyans. They are hanging on their shoulders and stepping on their backs telling them they will pray for them so they can be prosperous. They are very many in this country and they are getting rich overnight because of that. We have other preachers we see on television who come out purporting to heal people and charge a small fee for it. Every time these things are exposed, it is strange that most Kenyans go to those churches even after knowing those preachers were carrying out a hoax. I am sure most Members have seen a very recent video of a church leader telling people to hold their mobile phones, pray and they will receive M-Pesa in their phones. I was wondering what magic that was. You see hundreds of followers shaking their phones waiting to receive M- Pesa. I think we need to do something about this. My question is: What is the Government doing about this issue instead of complaining? I also want to ask what we, as leaders of the National Assembly, are doing about this? I believe if we sit and think about it, we will realise we should talk to each other instead of talking at each other so that we can come up with solutions. A while back, Her Excellency Ida Odinga talked about regulating those churches. She said there were some churches that were owned by a man, his wife as deputy preacher, their son as treasurer and their daughter as the secretary; it is a family business. She said we need to regulate and ensure people are given an opportunity to stand at the pulpit after getting correct training and with right intentions but she was vilified. Today, as a country, we are regretting. As a House, let us go beyond the talk and look at what laws we can come up with or amend so we can regulate this industry because it is one. Religion is matters of the heart but it is important we protect those poor and gullible Kenyans. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}