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{
    "id": 153061,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/153061/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 318,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In the evening after school, again, I would change from my uniform, go and work in the same farm. It is a miracle that somebody like Mr. John Mututho stands before this House today. That is why I support this Motion, right from my bones, heart and brain. \"Squatters\" by any other word is modern day slavery, and the rulers know it. No one can feel the pinch more than that old lady who will never give her labour again. No one feels the pinch more than people like us, the Members of Parliament from that region. We meet these people and interact with them everyday. We know that this Government has resources and power to do the right thing, but it does not have the goodwill. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we must support this Motion. This is the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) problem. The people who were lucky and worked very hard and were able to buy farms, again, ended up buying farms in Rift Valley Province. However, because of our political misgivings they are now called “IDPs”. This is a second round of suffering and this is very painful. We must have a fund now so that these squatters, for once, can have land. You will recall the Mau Mau veterans whom we spoke about here sometime back. Since these people were suspected to be supporters of the Mau Mau movement, their land was taken by the chiefs who consolidated them. These people, again, ended up being squatters. Honestly and in all fairness, we do not need President Obama or the United Nations (UN) to solve this problem. We want the Minister for Finance to allocate a figure, no matter how small, that will gradually and systematically sort out the problem of squatters. I am not talking about Kikuyus or Luhyas. My neighbour who was a Luo was a squatter and he died a very poor man the other day. He was buried in Molo. It does not matter which tribe you belong to. He was a tractor driver. The other neighbour was a Kalenjin who was a milkman. You should see his children. When you see a child of a squatter, it is only one out of 1,000 children of squatters that you will ever see. Those are the people like Mr. John Mututho. We will continue being bashed and we enjoy it. Even today I am being bashed. I like and love it. I rise here to support this Motion. We should have a big budget now to address this problem once and for all. Let us establish new irrigation schemes. Since we do not have those big farms any more, let us create structures. We know Kedong Ranch is owned by one family. This ranch is composed of over 50,000 acres of land. Let us request them to sacrifice 10,000 acres for the settlement of squatters. Using the systems we have seen in Israel and other places, these squatters can practise modern agriculture. They can live by the spirit of the founding father, Jomo Kenyatta; that in land lies our survival. He knew it. We also know that in land lies our survival. We need that Fund now. With those many words, from the bottom of my heart, I beg to support."
}