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{
    "id": 1345988,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1345988/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 53,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, many Kenyans who have kept abreast with our political history will certainly remember the famous phrase \"seven bearded sisters\", coined by the former Attorney-General, Sir. Charles Njonjo. Hon. Njonjo was referring to an indomitable cast of parliamentary firebrands and debaters, which included the Hon. Members of the following creed: Hon. Lawrence Sifuna, Hon. James Orengo, Hon. Abuya, Hon. Onyango Midika, Hon. Koigi Wamwere, Hon. Chibule wa Tsuma and Hon. Mashengu wa Mwachofi. What may not be clear to many today is that this name was based on the seven members who were uncompromising in their stands when national issues came to the Floor of the House. They were fearless and principled in defending the people. This group sowed the seed of liberation that would germinate in the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1992. There is no gainsaying that the contribution of Hon. Lawrence Sifuna was an integral part of this. Outside Parliament, Hon. Sifuna was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a farmer and a perennial defender of sugarcane farmers' rights. Sugarcane farmers are much the poorer today without him as, indeed, his recent absence from the public scene has coincided with the decline of the sugar sector under the weight of mismanagement and corruption. Hon. Sifuna is dying in shame about Nzoia Sugar Company. His charisma, gift of the gab and incorruptible ideology endeared him to the people in ways that modern politicians would envy. This is why the late Hon. Sifuna was elected Bungoma South MP in 1979, re-elected in 1983 and 1988, even though he was rigged out in the infamous Mlolongo voting system. This did not stop him and he romped back home in a landslide win as Kanduyi Constituency MP in 1992 on a Ford Asili ticket; in a region that riding against the Ford Kenya wave that had been initiated by Hon. Masinde Muliro. The wave had swept Bungoma District that year. It is true what they say that one's goodness follows them all through up to their grave. It may not be public knowledge that in 2022, Hon. Sifuna sought a return to elective politics with a run for the Bungoma Senatorial seat in that August elections. It is possible that he would be one of us here today. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a point of reflection. What would we have learnt from his experience? long, flawless career and service to the people and his impeccable debating skills. I am sufficiently convicted to believe that we have many lessons to learn from him and his peers. They saw the map of Kenya as one indivisible entity and fought to keep it as one nationhood as a whole. The emergence of divisive politics based on ethnic rhetoric in the past decade or so, has threatened this nationhood. This is something Hon. Sifuna would have opposed in its entirety. The best way to honour the memory of the late Hon. Sifuna is to commit to sanitizing our politics and return our country to a path of growth; a path devoid of politics of ethnicity, a path to development and unity. As one more national icon rests, the rest of us have to relentlessly push a national agenda that leaves no one behind. May the soul of Hon. Laurence Simiyu Sifuna rest in peace. Sifuna is dead. Long live Sifuna. I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. 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 and AudioServices, Senate."
}