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{
    "id": 1476794,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1476794/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 116,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orwoba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. On behalf of the women of Kenya, particularly the widows of this country, I would like to add my voice to Sen. Miraj’s statement. For those who have been following, Sen. Miraj has highlighted a case where you have a widow who is following up on properties that were owned by the family, particularly the husband and a bank account was used to take an overdraft of Kshs59 million. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in that instance, it appears as if the DTB, somehow colluded with people, according to her statement and ensured that they then auctioned properties worth Kshs70 million to allegedly claim back this Kshs59 million that was taken as an overdraft from an account of a deceased person. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the reason I stand to add my voice on this is because, day-in, day-out, I receive so many complaints from women, particularly widows or daughters of men who have passed away and there is a lot of property that is up for grabs. More often than not, you will see that there are even discrepancies on how women are being dealt with at these banking institutions. They start asking you for all sorts of documentation just to ensure that you are unable to follow up on the unclaimed financial assets of the deceased persons. I have been on record in this House talking about the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) as well who are dealing with certain matters that touch on assets of those who have passed away. It is very unfortunate now that Ms. Noor Ali Islam, who is the widow of Mr. Anwar Mohammed Bayusuf, has lost property worth Kshs70 million. On top of that, the bank is still claiming that there is a Kshs17 million balance that was accrued due to this alleged overdraft that was taken after the man had passed on. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this kind of banking fraud is very common and the target, most of the time, is women; women who most of the time entrust their banking, finances and assets to the men who are their spouses. Unfortunately, when they pass on, they are found in these circumstances where things are up for grabs. I want to particularly speak to the CBK because I am dealing with so many of these cases. Every time you go to CBK asking for certain things, inquiring on certain procedures or even when it comes to auctioning as a woman, it is so difficult. They almost force you to get money for a legal representative and it becomes a whole other affair. On behalf of the women of Kenya, particularly the widows, I hope that when this statement, which has been referred to the Standing Committee of Finance and Budget- which is the same committee that I referred the statement of unclaimed financial assets- reaches there, it will be dealt with and not as they dealt with the UFAA. They have not come back to me on all the inquiries. Some of them were touching on issues such as this. I hope that the Chair and the committee will take this matter seriously, because women are suffering. Some of us whose fathers who passed on are still dealing with issues of assets. The fundamental basis of this statement is that it is actually a form of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) that is targeted at women, in the assumption that we do not understand finances, banking issues or that we cannot fight for our assets. 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."
}