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{
    "id": 1379909,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1379909/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 89,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Statement by Sen. Wakili Sigei should not pass without notice. As a Senator, I follow news and pay a lot of interest in what happens in all of our 47 counties, much as I have a specific county. When we take the oath of office, we defend the interest of counties, not just your county alone. Therefore, as a Senate, we occasionally get concerned when certain trends are beginning to take shape in many of our counties. In another life, I would have been a journalist if not a politician. Therefore, I am gravely concerned that journalists serving in our various county headquarters are being forced to live under very difficult circumstances; that if they do not sing to the tune of the local county governor or the county government, they are threatened, attacked and victimized. I can count off the top of my mind, not less than 10 counties where I have seen journalists being attacked in the last few years. Therefore, this is not a light issue. It is not just in Bomet. If you follow the local news keenly, you will notice that there have been so many attacks on journalists because they have highlighted a story in a particular county government. Therefore, this is not something that we need to treat casually. It is my sincere hope that the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) and the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) will come to the Senate when this presentation is being made so that we can have the statistics of the number of journalists who have been attacked in our counties on account of simply doing their work. Governors who send goons to attack journalists who have refused to sing their tune must be named and censured by this House. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we cannot be bystanders. Media practitioners are our partners in highlighting either the good or the bad in our counties. When they go about their duties, it should be in an amiable environment where they are free of threats. They should live their lives normally like any other citizen. I felt that this issue should not be just left to rest as is and handled by the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights. This is something that we should speak boldly about. As a House, we must take a decision until our journalists are free in our various counties. I thank you."
}