Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1444310,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1444310/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 120,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader (",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Sen. Cheruiyot): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I will try to be very brief. This is not something you want to say a lot of things about, because it is dodged with many risky corners as you contribute. You can be asked later to declare your interest in some of these provisions. Therefore, for the record, it is important to say that this is purely legislative work and there is no personal interest in it, but it is very thought-provoking, listening to Sen. Veronica Maina, a very distinguished legislator. I love the work that she is doing in the Senate; the many Bills that she has proposed, this just being one of them. Therefore, I would wish to indulge her in a few thoughts. Mr. Speaker, Sir, even before going into the very details of the various sections of the law that she is seeking to amend and the justification she gave, there is something Sen. Maanzo said in passing, but he did not realize the gravity of the debate he was handling at that particular point. One of the greatest challenges of the laws of succession, listening to it and even having just a cursory look into the issues that are before various courts of law and even in the public arena; because it is not only in our courts of law that succession is practiced, but even in the villages, ordinary citizens who cannot access the courts of justice sit down and try to agree on some of these issues. There are rules and there are challenges there. The Senator for Makueni, my good friend, Sen. Maanzo, did mention the conflicting application of this law in line with customary practices in our various communities. This varies from one community to the other. It is unfortunate, and I wish Sen. Veronica had taken time to reflect on this as well, on how we marry the law with these various customary practices. I know for a fact that Senator Maanzo comes from the Akamba Community, and one customary practice my people share with them, is where back in the olden days, women used to marry other women. It is not in the way that we are accustomed to now and the stories that we hear about all these other things, but it was that when a woman is married and if for whatever reason, she was not able to bear children, she was allowed to actually, bring in an aide or an assistant. It is a practice that is established even in the biblical practice, because if you are a reader of the Bible, you know what happened between Sarah and Hagar. Is that her actual name?"
}