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{
    "id": 1283842,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1283842/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 244,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, six years ago, there was a famous black French footballer called Mr. Benjamin Mendy, who arrived at the Manchester Club called Manchester City, as the most expensive defender at the time. Around November of 2020, this gentleman was arraigned in court and charged on six allegations of rape. At that particular point, when those charges were brought against Benjamin Mendy, his career entirely stopped. His contract at Manchester City, of course, was put on hold and his bright future as a footballer was thrown into confusion. It was only in January of this year that that footballer called Mendy was cleared of those charges. There are certain truths that we know in our society. There are certain crimes called crimes of morality. For as long as an allegation is made that you have been involved in a crime of morality, for instance, rape or defilement of a minor, the public already in the minds make a determination that you as a man are guilty. There is also a tenet of law that the person who makes an allegation has the responsibility to prove that allegation. He who alleges must prove. I have seen my colleague, the nominated Senator from Nairobi, trying to make a comparison between some of the things that have happened on this Floor, to some of the allegations that have been labelled against members of the Clerkship in this House by the Senator under discussion, Sen. Orwoba. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Report is what we are supposed to restrict ourselves to this afternoon. Sen. Orwoba made very specific allegations that have been captured in this Report. We all have responsibility for the statements and the allegations that we make. The first one which is found on page 8 of the Report by the Committee, is an allegation of pursuit of sexual favours in this House. I have said, in some of these allegations, especially for crimes of morality, immediately the allegation is made, especially to a man, you are done. Society will not wait for the court case or be interested in what the witnesses will come to say. In the minds of those people, you are a rapist once the allegation has been made and that is the good truth. So, it is not to say that you cannot make an allegation or probably that there are no people in this institution of Parliament who are seeking sexual favours. That is not what we are saying. We are saying that immediately you pronounce that so-and-so is seeking sexual favours from you, you have a responsibility to substantiate those allegations. On the second count, there was an allegation of favouritism and discrimination in the execution of the work by the Office of the Clerk and officers of this institution. Now, all that is required to do after making an allegation, if indeed it is true, you must demonstrate with evidence that these are things that you have not just conjured up; that things are happening the way that you are putting them. This is because these allegations once made against officers or any person in this House have consequences. It is only fair that you make that substantiation."
}