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{
    "id": 1520635,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1520635/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 229,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nandi County, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Cynthia Muge",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "that tries to address the issues and concerns that we have had for a very long time, regarding the culture. I want to appreciate three aspects of this Bill. The first aspect is that this Bill is trying to operationalise an Article in the Constitution that provides for the cultural heritage of this country and its protection. The second aspect that I want to appreciate is that, it has apportioned responsibility to the county governments where they are encouraged to own the cultures in their counties, and to make an effort to make sure that they display those cultures. We must appreciate that this country has diverse cultures, and there is a saying that strength lies in the differences, not in the similarities, and this is where our strength as a country and as a culture lies. We have diversity in culture. We have different cultures in this country, and that is where we draw our strength from. Again, Hon. Temporary Speaker, I also want to appreciate this Committee for trying to sort out what I would like to call the hardware. The hardware in this case is the item that is going to regulate the item that most of the Members have spoken to. How then are those counties and the people who are custodians of that culture able to leverage on that culture to make an income? It is a very progressive way of trying to see to it that it happens in this country, and I appreciate this Bill for trying to put those items across. Matters of culture are better dealt with at the county level. We want to showcase the diverse cultures in this country. I come from Nandi County, where one would imagine that only the Nandi culture is present. However, other people, like the Luhya, also live in Nandi County. We also celebrate their culture regarding different matters such as marriage and circumcision. There is a way they do it that is very appealing. When it is time for young men to be taken for the circumcision ceremony in my county, we all get out to spectate and see how the Luhya community goes about it in their culture. The Nandi have a very good way of going about it. They have a saying for it that goes tumranyoo manaiji . That is how they do it. Culture should be preserved for the future generations so that when my young sons and daughters come of age, they can appreciate how their people used to do things, including how we go about marriage ceremonies because many things have changed. In our culture, for instance, there used to be many ceremonies regarding marriage but, nowadays, it is done very casually. That is something we must hold onto because a people who do not have a culture do not have anything in their hearts and souls. I appreciate that this Bill is trying to address the hardware of culture. However, cultural issues are too diverse to be addressed through a Bill. To a large extent, we cannot conclusively and adequately legislate on culture. Therefore, we should just endeavour to ensure that it is in the hearts and souls of the people, so that they can portray their culture because it is a way of life. It is about how we do things, including the way we relate with each other in our everyday lives. A peoples’ culture includes so many aspects that we cannot put them on paper and do justice to them. I do not feel like the title of the Bill does justice to the contents of the Bill. I will be keen to introduce an amendment during the Committee of the whole House Stage to customise the Title of the Bill so that it can speak to the matters that are actually in the Bill. Kenya’s culture has not received justice in terms of the contents of the Bill. The Bill has come to the House so that all of us can put our heads together, enrich it and make it more inclusive. We must also address certain outdated and bad cultural practices. For instance, my people used to practise female genital mutilation (FGM). It was a cultural practice in my community. We all agree that FGM is not a suitable cultural practice that should be handed down to future generations. Therefore, we must look at the good cultural practices that were left behind and revive them, and also look at the bad cultural practices that we should leave behind as a progressive nation and people. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}