Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1369952,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1369952/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 34,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kilifi North, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Owen Baya",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to present a public Petition regarding the gazettement of Kaya forests as forest areas under the Forest Conservation and Management Act of 2016. I, the undersigned, on behalf of the residents of Kilifi North Constituency, draw the attention of the House to the following: THAT, the Mijikenda community occupy separate forest sites spread over 200 kilometres mostly on low hills, ranging in size from 30 to 300 hectares along the coastal counties of Kwale, Mombasa and Kilifi containing the remains of more than 30 fortified villages known as Kayas; THAT, Kayas were created during the 16th century but abandoned in the 1940s and are now regarded as abodes of ancestors which are respected as sacred sites maintained by the council of elders; inscribed as bearing unique testimony to a cultural tradition and for its direct link to a living tradition; THAT, forests around Kayas have been nurtured by the Mijikenda community to protect the sacred graves and groves and are now almost the only remains of the once extensive coastal lowland forest; THAT, Kayas provide focal points for Mijikenda religious beliefs and practices and are regarded as their ancestral homes. As such, they have metonymic significance to the Mijikenda and are a fundamental source of their sense of well-being in the world and of a place within the cultural landscape of contemporary Kenya; seen as a defining characteristic of Mijikenda identity; THAT, since their abandonment as preferred places of settlement, Kayas have been transferred from the domestic aspect of the Mijikenda landscape to its spiritual sphere. As part of this process, certain restrictions were placed on access and the utilisation of natural forest resources; THAT, as a direct consequence of the above, the biodiversity of Kayas and forests surrounding them had been sustained. However, Kayas are under threat both externally and from within Mijikenda society through the decline of traditional 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"
}