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"id": 1491078,
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
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"legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. Let me begin by saying that I support the Amendment to the County Government Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill (Senate Bills No.2 of 2024) by Sen. Crystal Asige. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, being included in any society should be our main principle in this House. It should be what we advocate for. I just got back from Wajir County and this county is one of the most progressive counties in this country. It has billionaires, the residents of Wajir County own their aircraft that fly daily. There are two flights daily to Wajir County. However, because of being excluded from the national grid, that county is not able to achieve the same potential as a county like Nairobi City County. Marsabit County suffers the same consequences. Mandera County suffers the same consequences. So, today, when I am seated here and trying to absorb the submissions by my sister, Sen. Cristal Asige, I am beginning to appreciate the fact that it is only her who can give us real insights into what people with disability can help this country on the experiences, the challenges that they go through when it comes to issues of policy-making. Yes, the Constitution is there. If you read the object, a memorandum of her Bill, it talks clearly that the purpose of this Bill is to achieve the requirements under Article 54(2) of the Constitution that at least 5 per cent of the Members of the County Assembly are persons with disabilities. This is a progressive implementation tool that Sen. Cristal Asige wants us to be cognizant of its benefits and what it can do for future generations. We must become realistic. I was seated here and Sen. Oketch Gicheru came and said something to me, which I have been agonizing with, and said, “This is an interesting Bill”. If hypothetically one day everyone who is elected to office from a particular county assembly is disabled? Then what does the law say regarding other able people? When I read the Constitution, I started laughing and smiling at the drafters of the Constitution because they had seen what Sen. Oketch had seen. So, this is a matter of being progressive, slowly by slowly, for us to achieve for future generations. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC has attempted to do this, but they have not been able to do that because of lobbying. Every single day someone goes and lobbies, and before you realize it, someone who has been brought here cannot even be able to advocate for any person who is disabled. So, it is imperative as we contribute to this Bill, we see how far we can go in defining what disability is all about. My brother, Sen. Okiya Omtatah, was arguing that he is also disabled because, for one reason or another, he is not able to chew bones. Maybe he is right. What I saw lacking in this Bill, and I kept on asking myself, is that since this Bill is essentially for advocating for inclusion for people with disability in elected positions, what about people who are dyslexic? Are those people who are dyslexic also considered disabled? Do we only consider people who are physically disabled? Or do we consider people who cannot hear? Or do 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."
}