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{
    "id": 1442641,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1442641/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 49,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "World over, we know that there are people who have led peaceful protests and they have changed the world. We know that in 1964, the celebrated Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King in the United States of America (USA) led the march to Washington, that led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act in the USA that gave Americans their civil rights. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we regret that there are about eight Kenyans who lost their lives within the precincts of Parliament. This is regrettable. It is my prayer and wish that as we move forward, we also demand for accountability from our security forces. We know that a well-trained police force that follows what Kenyans passed when we enacted the 2010 Constitution in Chapter 14 know that they are supposed to be guided by principles of human rights, rule of law and democracy. The rule of law dictates that if you come across a demonstrator who has broken the law, what the country expects is to have that Kenyan arrested and presented before the court of law. That is the only we can build a country that truly can pride itself as one that respects and operates within the tenets of the rule of law. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we watch international media and we see demonstrations every day. You see them in France, USA and Britain, but hardly will you see cases where police officers open fire on unarmed demonstrators. We expect that one of the resolutions the Committee will make is to hold the police officers who have used excessive force accountable. I, therefore, mourn with those Kenyans and plead that part of the recommendations should be on how we extend assistance to the parents who have lost their children as they prepare for their burials. I applaud the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Health for releasing a press release today, confirming that the Government has waived all the medical bills of those Kenyans. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we must move a step further and ensure that we extend assistance. We owe Gen Zs and we failed, I included, in stopping the passage of that very draconian Finance Bill. If it were not for the Gen Zs, that Finance Bill would be law today. So, we owe them. Without them, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, the Finance Bill 2024, would be law today and that is the reality. Having said that, the country must accept that we are in extra-ordinary times which call for extra-ordinary measures from extra-ordinary leaders. We have seen a Gen Z that has demonstrated an extra-ordinary ability. How these young people are able to mobilize and be out in the streets without choosing their social status is amazing. We have children who are in that generation whom we think as fairly privileged. However, they identified with the cause of the Gen Z that is on the streets. If you have a son, watch how they are hooked to the X Space conversations. It tells us that there is something right we have not done. I propose that as we go forward, we must accept that this country is facing a number of challenges and we must look for solutions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the first point I want to make is to speak to the President. The President needs to restore respectability because public trust on the Presidency is at the lowest. If you listened to the X Space even when the President was answering questions, the responses were that they could not trust him. The biggest challenge is to win back the public trust. Public trust in the President is at the lowest. We urge the President to begin by respecting the Constitution. Let him begin there. He can go for low hanging fruits. We have seen what the Gen Zs have been posting on The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}