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{
"id": 1518370,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1518370/?format=api",
"text_counter": 253,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13599,
"legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
"slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
},
"content": "Luckily for me, the Senator for Migori is elected under my political party, ODM together with the Governor of Migori. Additionally, the woman representative, although she is not elected on ODM, she is ODM adjacent. That is the term we use. I spoke to these leaders to try and understand how is it that a conflict can run for so long under the radar, that people have lost lives. As recently as a few weeks ago, there is a young man who was shot by security officers because of this dispute about the use of land that has historically been used by the people of Kuria to farm. It was quite surprising for me. I remember assuring the Hon. Kemege that I would speak to the leadership there. I spoke to Gov. Ochilo Ayako and Sen. Eddy. He had promised to bring a Petition. However, I am happy that after we spoke with Eddy, he has found a faster route that will not enlabour the people of Kuria there, because they have a Senator here who takes his work very seriously. Due to the conflict down there, we were informed by Sen. Eddy that, in fact, they have not been able to farm on their land for almost three seasons now. It is quite surprising that a conflict can just fly under the radar when lives are being lost for such a long period of time. Therefore, I am very happy that the Senator has brought this matter here. I saw the effort you put in, Hon. Eddy Oketch over the holidays in December, to try and assuage the situation there. A community that has not farmed for three seasons was literally at the mercy of starvation. It may take time for us to sort out our security matters, but I am happy that there is progress. Just this afternoon, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) announced that 13 police officers and one officer from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had been arraigned before a Kiambu court, charged with the abduction and murder of two Indian nationals and one Kenyan in July, 2022. These officers are suspected to have been members of the DCI that were part of the now disbanded Special Service Unit (SSU). Therefore, I want to encourage Kenyans, and especially the good police officers within the security forces, that it does not matter who puts you up to commit a crime. Those people will not be in power for long and the arc of justice will get to you at some point. Lastly, I want to also support the statement that has been brought by Sen. Peris Tobiko, on the instances of rape in Magadi, Kajiado County. Magadi is a place that is very close to my heart. I have spent many months in Magadi itself, because I have an uncle who used to work for the plant there before it was sold. What is surprising and this is something that is a universal scourge, these issues are not unique to Kajiado. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was sitting with a team of firefighters from Nairobi today and would you believe it, there was a complaint raised by one of the female firefighters. Due the nature of the dire situation in which the department is, there is no security at our fire stations. We are supposed to have armed police officers manning these fire stations at night, but they are not there. You can imagine you go to places like the Ruaraka Fire Station and there is no gate. More so, you are a lady manning the control room, supposed to receive fire incident reports and to dispatch firefighters and you are sitting there."
}