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{
    "id": 1264263,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1264263/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 360,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nandi Hills, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Bernard Kitur",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "and cowardly acts by the terrorists has negatively impacted the ongoing development activities in that area. Equally, education and the social lives of people in that region have seriously been affected. Therefore, the Government should take this seriously. We have been informed that as we speak, there are many internally displaced Kenyans from a number of villages who are now living in school compounds. I appreciate the fact that we have the Government’s presence in that area. Sadly, we have seen some of the gory pictures of IEDs that have exploded under vehicles which security officers were using. How I wish the Government could invest more in armoured vehicles and other very important armaments for security officers to do continuous surveillance in areas that are a bit porous. We do not wish to see what we have witnessed in the recent past where officers were injured by IEDs. I engaged the people in that area and one of their greatest concerns is the need for Government to focus on development of Lamu East and Lamu West. This is because most attacks using IEDs do not happen on tarmac roads but on earth roads, where attackers implant those deadly devices to cause terror and horror amongst people. There are other issues that came up in my engagement with some of the people who were on the ground, which I wish to highlight - like the big chunks of land in some parts of Lamu County with absentee landlords. In 2014, title deeds were revoked but somehow, they were returned. So, there are big chunks of land which are undeveloped because of absent landlords. The Government needs to look into this so that those lands can be developed. Also, there is need for the Government to recruit the local people into the National Police Reservists (NPRs) and have them trained on how to protect themselves when faced with unexpected attacks like the recent one. There is need for collaborative efforts amongst the leaders of Lamu because sometimes we see the differences that happen amongst the leadership. I would like to quote Martin Luther King Jr., who said, “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools” and “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” In that regard, I implore the leaders of Lamu to come together with the security agencies and avoid having a push and pull so as to face the enemy who has come to destabilise the communities in that part of the region. As I conclude, I want to say that the locals in that area have been talking about land demarcation. This is long overdue and is probably one of the issues they are facing right now. I implore the Government to provide basic needs to the internally displaced people who are now grouped in school compounds. It is very sad that because of this heinous act, locals are losing a lot. They go to the farms during the day and return to school compounds, where they are taking shelter. They claim that animals which are not tended to at night go to their farms and destroy their livelihoods. I castigate this cowardly act and encourage the Government to move with speed to protect people in that region. They must have a bigger collaborative effort amongst the security teams to protect the people of Lamu in those porous borders. I understand that the Government has handled similar situations before because we have had terrible attacks in the past. We have currently had a relatively long period without attacks. However, this kind of insurgency puts all of us in a risk. When Lamu, Turkana or Mandera are at risk or face terrorists attacks, we all face the same risk. I encourage the Government to move with speed. We also need to get flawless information from Government on what is happening towards protecting Kenyans in Lamu, Garissa and other regions. Lastly, as a leader, I stand in solidarity with all the people of Lamu County; all those who have been affected, including the families of the soldiers who have been affected by these heinous acts. They are going through a lot of pain and I want them to know that as leaders of this nation, we stand by them. We will pray with them. We will face this enemy together as one people. We will overcome. We must stand as one people to protect our country. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}