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{
"id": 1519546,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1519546/?format=api",
"text_counter": 301,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13217,
"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
"slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
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"content": "Therefore, I want to assure the nation and thank President William Ruto for his magnanimity. You remember in 2022, the presidential election was a close call, but out of the magnanimity of President William Ruto, when Raila Odinga declared that he would run for the African Union Chairman, President William Ruto did not look at Raila as the opponent that he defeated him in the general election. He looked at him as a brother, a statesman and a Kenyan. That is why the Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga had at his disposal the entire Government machinery to campaign across the 51 states of Africa and share his vision for a better Africa. I was disappointed that some people in parts of this country and others on social media could celebrate the loss of Raila Odinga. Raila Odinga never lost anything. It is Kenya which lost its standing in the League of Nations. Let us not confuse issues. If it is about losing, Raila has developed a thick skin of losing many elections, but he has always looked at the brighter side. He has been the safe pair of hands when Kenya is in turmoil. From 2007, 2018 and the other day in 2022. Mr. Speaker, Sir, some people celebrated on social media, and in some parts of this country. We tell them “ riswa na washindwe katika jina la Yesu” . Secondly, Raila Odinga, is not the first Kenyan to have lost. Even Ms. Nancy Kirigitu lost. Even Ms. Raychelle Omamo lost. The latest one, Ms. Amina Mohamed also lost in 2017, and we never saw this kind of vitriol and hatred against a candidate like Raila Odinga. Many people thought that when Raila lost in AU, some people could be used to fight the Government, but woe unto them, it will not happen. As a country, we have a better agenda to have a prosperous nation going into the future in governance, development, rule of law and democracy. There have been arguments asserting that the reason for the loss is the position of Kenya in the DRC crisis; the position of Kenya on issues of Gaza and Israel; the position of Kenya in the Sudan crisis, where we saw the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) here in Nairobi, and many other positions which Kenya holds across the world. We must accept that beyond and above African Union engagement, there was the issue of religion, language and region and also superpowers. I am happy my brother from Homa Bay has said that Kenya should not look east or west; we should look at where our interests are as a country. You saw the other day when President Donald Trump came, he came with a different policy. China or the East has come up with a different policy. Therefore, it is neither here nor there that we are arguing today that it is based on many forces. We know that after the African Union as a continent, there are many international and global interests, whether they come from the East or West. Therefore, for Raila Odinga, as our candidate, as a statesman and as a Kenyan, to stand on the annals of history and look for this seat, I want to congratulate him. It is not easy. Even in local elections, like ward elections, we have seen people who say they will run, but when the real game is called, they are nowhere to run, even for a ward election. That will happen even in the 2027 General Elections."
}