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{
    "id": 1369456,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1369456/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 635,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Lugari, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Nabii Nabwera",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I will start by agreeing with the views of majority of my colleagues, who ostensibly agree that the Mavoko land issue is not just a regional or a Machakos issue, but a national disaster. I keep asking myself two questions during my term in Parliament. What did we mean when we took an oath to defend the Constitution? One of the national values enshrined in the Constitution is human dignity. Is it human dignity when you demolish a house and leave people in the cold, including pregnant women and children? Secondly, what is common good? Is common good in Lugari where I come from similar to common good in Kiambu or Machakos? I ask that question because all land on which Government-owned institutions are situated is held in trust on behalf of the people of this country. That is a basic fact. We were recently defending land on which Miwani and Nzoia sugar companies sit on from privatisation. How is that different from land that belongs to the East African Portland Cement Company? We have a law on public land acquisition, which has been used to remove people from their land for particular causes. To understand the problem of Mavoko, look at it this way: We will demolish the houses today, advertise the sale of the land tomorrow, and claim that the original owners of the houses will be given first priority. What does that mean? The management of the East Africa Portland Cement Company must be held to account on this. The Kenya Kwanza Government, which knows very well that it has made the people poorer by demolishing their houses, orchestrated this. After that, that Government makes an offer to them knowing the people will be unable to buy that land. Then, the shenanigans of the Kenya Kwanza Government will go and buy that land. We were addressing a presser with Hon. Mugabe today because surveyors from the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development together with a County Commissioner in Uasin Gishu called Nyale were in Turbo Forest. The forest is in Lugari and Likuyani. They were purporting to survey land to give to the people. This is being done without public participation and without Parliament excising the forest. That is what Mavoko is. I am requesting for an extra two minutes. We, as a country, must come to our senses. Why am I saying so? There are actions we take that will have far-reaching socio-economic impacts. An economy that is not performing and a country that cannot meet its basic needs should do better."
}