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{
    "id": 1267662,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1267662/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 144,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Crystal Asige. She is always elegantly dressed, punctual, and articulate in her presentations. However, she was maybe able to achieve that because her parents had the means and capacity to make her what she was meant to be. Imagine if Sen. Crystal Asige had been born into a family that was materially challenged? Maybe she would be sitting with a begging ball at a corner of a certain street. So, it is upon the State as the bearer of human rights to come up with an affirmative action plan that will secure people who have these challenges. When the Bill goes further, I would like to see that come out clearly and emphatically. I have looked at Clause 8 of the Bill and I am happy that it upholds traditional family values. It maintains the right to marry a person of the opposite sex and form a family based on free consent and other rights. In the modern world where there are a lot of distortions, I am happy that Sen. Crystal Asige has had the presence of mind to pronounce in no uncertain terms, the binary nature of human sexuality. I congratulate her for that because there is a lot of pressure to distort these things. Another thing that I would like to see come out in the Bill is, people with disability through the use of certain names are euthanised, dehumanised, and ostracised. The Swahili Language has got some of the worst names for people with disability. I would love to see in this Bill an attempt to make those words politically incorrect and maybe new nomenclature to emerge that defines and respects the humanity of the person. It is very painful for somebody, a human being, just because of a physical challenge to be referred to in a manner that dehumanizes and objectifies them. So, when this Bill goes further and is reviewed, I would like to see it address the question of the use of names that dehumanise, euthanise, and ostracise persons living with certain disabilities. I would also love to see severe sanctions against people who, because they do not have any challenges, would abuse people with disabilities and would deny people with disabilities their rights. I have seen the rights of these people well pronounced but I would like to see the sanctions enhanced to where these rights are violated so that there is deterrence; something that will deter the do-no-gooders of this world from going on expeditions of frustrating people with disability or of denying them their rights. So, this particular Bill comes at an opportune time when we have narratives in this country that are geared towards emancipating our people, be it from economic or any other bondage. So, within the same narrative of emancipation, which I hear in Government, opposition, and in Civil Society circles, this Bill is a good installment in that debate that there is a group of Kenyan citizens or residents of this country who require and deserve special attention. That attention can only be presented using the wherewithal that only the State can marshal. Left to private families, parents and communities, these people will drop through the cracks and maybe those who are enabled and gifted as Sen. Crystal Asige, will fall through the cracks and will never be noticed. So, it is upon the State to go the extra mile and say that where nature has visited a disability on a citizen or a resident of Kenya, the State will step in to make sure that the challenge is mitigated through certain measures. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}