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{
    "id": 1625123,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1625123/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 338,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, you might be aware that in every law we have implemented, and I was a member of the Commission on Implementation of the Constitution, we made it a requirement that before anybody is appointed or elected into public office, they should be compliant with Chapter Six of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. I have just demonstrated how what Mr. Laban Omusundi is talking about is a violation of Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. As we ask the EACC to name and shame, my view is that this should not be enough. It should be one ground, which the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should use against those officers. They should bar all of them from seeking electoral positions after dishonestly presenting public projects as though they are personal This conduct is flourishing in our country because we have not legislated on civic education 15 years after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. We are supposed to invest in civic education as a country. This will help educate the public, especially the vulnerable. It helps them understand when public officers abuse office or misappropriate resources. I am using this word, “misappropriate”, very carefully. By suggesting that I am the one who delivered a project when I did not, in my view, that is misappropriation. I am actually pretending and lying to the public that by my power and finances, I have delivered a project, when I have not. Mr. Deputy Speaker, you know the impact of these lies to the public. Many poor people have ended up not making proper choices in elections because they are misled. For example, by the fact that an electoral officer gives them a cheque of Kshs2,000, the voter feels they owe a vote because they received it. Many poor families believe that bursaries from public funds come from individuals. They think the person handing out the cheque is using their own money. That is why, when Sen. Karungo tabled a Bill to amalgamate bursaries into a fund that goes directly to schools, I supported it. We have reached a place where we must recollect, introspect and correct where we have gone wrong as a country. One of our biggest mistakes is the misappropriation of office. Elected leaders mislead the public. They make people think national resources are ours and that we can dish them out in our own name and as we wish. Instances of corruption has gone to high heavens because of that. Mr. Omusundi, you have brought a very good Petition that should be listened to and taken seriously. In my view, all Kenyans of goodwill should support it. The civil society, those listening, citizens who understand the Constitution, those of us in elective and appointive offices should understand the need to separate public from personal interest. As we move forward, I wonder whether we need more legislation. We have many Chapter 15 commissions in this country that can assist us to implement some of these issues. We are asking for more people willing to move Petitions like Mr. Omusundi has done; people who are willing to go to court. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) and the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) can, on their own motion, take on these issues and move them to their logical conclusion. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}