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{
    "id": 1257901,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1257901/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 22,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Ugunja, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Opiyo Wandayi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Sub-Article (2) says: “Parliament may not exclude the public, or any media, from any sitting unless in exceptional circumstances the relevant Speaker has determined that there are justifiable reasons for the exclusion.” The point here is that, yesterday between 1.30 p.m and 2.00 p.m, there was commotion at the gate of Parliament within the precincts of Parliament along Parliament Road and Harambee Avenue to an extent that the police fired tear gas canisters, whose effects permeated the precincts of Parliament, including my office, and it affected my staff. What I have been briefed is that, in anticipation of debate on the Finance Bill, some members of the public came to the precincts of Parliament at the gate to either show solidarity with Members of Parliament or to express their feelings about the Finance Bill. Essentially, they were picketing within the meaning of Article 37 of the Constitution. The reason why I am raising this issue is so that we set the record straight. I do not think that as the Parliament of the Republic of Kenya, we should act differently from other civilised Parliaments of the world. Parliaments the world over are known as public institutions with public access at will. That happens at the Capitol Hill in the USA and at the Westminster Palace in the United Kingdom. I want you to make a ruling to guide the House, and more importantly the police. If we allow the precedent that was set yesterday to have its way, we will basically be telling Kenyans and the world that the Parliament of the Republic of Kenya wants to isolate itself from the very public that it is supposed to serve. What kind of threat was the unarmed public going to pose to the House or anybody else by coming close to Parliament to picket, cheer and jeer? We cannot afford to be seen to be complicit in gagging of the public when they are expressing their views on issues that they feel are pertinent to them. The public must be allowed not only to access Parliament, but also to picket around it at will."
}