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{
    "id": 1520583,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1520583/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 177,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Siaya County, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) Christine Ombaka",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Last December, in my community, we had a two-day Piny Luo celebration. It simply means the Luo world. We invited guests from all over. We were tracing the history of the Luo people right from Sudan, and how they spread out in so many countries in this world. They are in Uganda, Tanzania, West Africa, and in many other countries. Many people came to celebrate the Luo culture at that time. There was music, good food from time back, and men and women who know the history of the Luo movement from Sudan to here. Even today, we are burying and praying for a great professor, Bethwell Allan Ogot. He wrote a lot about the Luo culture in many books and articles. In one of the presentations last December before he passed away, he told us about the power of women and how women were highly respected. A number of people who led the Luo movement from Sudan were women. He highlighted the role that women played in the history of the Luo people but, somehow today, we are losing it. Nobody cares about the role that women played historically in various movements, including historical movements, wars and so on. We need to appreciate and make sure that we conserve their names, activities, and the roles that they played. It is, therefore, very important that this Bill must be supported because it will help in preserving a culture that is dying. The Kenyan culture is rich. We are 42 communities and that does not mean we are divided. It simply means that all those communities with their cultures can make us very strong as a united nation. Kenya is a united nation with 42 communities forming a nation. So, we need to celebrate the 42 cultures that we have. I know culture is dying, but we need to still fight very hard to protect it. We need to protect Got Ramogi, a hill where our ancestors settled when they arrived in Kenya many years ago. Nobody should go to that land and start digging and treating it like it is their own. It must be protected and nobody should interfere with it. We have the Kikuyu Kiondo and somebody brought up the issue about it in this House. Some European countries have grabbed and called it their own. It is owned by the Kikuyu because that is a traditional basket that they weave and it is part and parcel of their identity. Interestingly, some foreigners have grabbed it and made it their own. So, that is where the catch is. We are losing what we have to the European countries. We need to grab back our culture that they have taken and are making so much money from it. We need it right here because if we do not watch it, they will grab everything and they will take us back to their country and make money out of us. We recall slavery. Very soon, they will pick us up and take us over there as they are taking some of our property that we need to protect. I would like to conclude, because I am rushing somewhere else. I support this Bill very highly. I am supporting our identity; I am supporting our way of life; and, I am supporting the Kenyan people who are protecting and fighting for their communities, values, and their way of life as lived by a people of today's culture. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
}