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{
    "id": 1444369,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1444369/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 179,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mandago",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13577,
        "legal_name": "Kiplagat Jackson Mandago",
        "slug": "kiplagat-jackson-mandago"
    },
    "content": "to try and engage, so that we balance the views of various communities in the amendments that we will put in place. I would also like to talk about having a will. We have seen and witnessed so many disputes or people disputing a will that was written by a deceased person, resulting into many long legal battles. I would like Sen. Veronica Maina to also think about this. I will do some research before I appear before the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights on this matter of wills. Going forward, so that resources are not locked for a long period of time because of disputes or disputing a will, if we have the Registrar of Births and Deaths, why do we not have Registrar of Wills, so that everybody can have a will and you are asked to review after every five years? Your will should be kept at the Registrar of Wills, who upon confirmation of your death and registration of your death, releases your will certificate and it becomes final. Courts can use that to make decisions to reduce the time it takes to decide on succession matters that leave particularly polygamous families vulnerable for longer periods of time. Most polygamous families have challenges because some are not properly formalized either culturally or legally. We have seen situations where some spouses in polygamous families are chased away, denying their children a right to go to school. We need to resolve that. We need to look into amendments that will make sure that none of the desirable beneficiaries miss the opportunity to benefit. Coming back to the issue of wills and distribution of wealth, I encourage the Kenyan population to take it seriously and positively, so that in any eventuality, there is minimal room for disputes to arise. I will be following this up under the Law of Succession Act, to make sure that children do not start asking for inheritance from me as a parent when I am still alive. We should make it clear that as soon as a child turns 18 years, he should know that he is an independent Kenyan, who is supposed to be on his own by working for his wealth, unless it is wealth that was inherited from your grandfather and so forth. What I worked for should be left to me to decide how I want to give it. Let us not enact laws that will encourage children to send us to the grave early because there is an opportunity to distribute wealth as soon as we leave, and because the law says they can automatically inherit regardless of what happens. We have to make sure that the law takes care of that, so that we have a society that does not use it negatively. As I said, I want to emphasize to Sen. Veronica Maina. In a situation where one remarries, issues of assets that were acquired in the previous marriage should be looked into, so that the children, spouse or parents who probably are dependants of the deceased are not disadvantaged. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, before I end, I would like to encourage Sen. Veronica Maina to give it a thought in terms of giving it sufficient time for public participation on these amendments because they are critical and answer on many challenges that we are currently going through as a nation. I thank you. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}