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"speaker_name": "Mr. Chanzu",
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"legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to also contribute to this important Motion. The reason as to why it has taken such a long time for this country to have a new Constitution is that there was lack of trust amongst Kenyans. That problem is very deeply rooted. You can see what is going on even now, even though you do not make judgements. It is very irritating to Kenyans. Eventually, we will be branded, as Members of Parliament, as the ones who are anti-reformists. The blame game has started. I think this is a trick which is played all the time. I saw something like that in the media recently. One of the top leaders of this country has already isolated himself from the issue by saying that some quarters of this countryâs leadership is anti-reformist. I listened to what was said last week, when the President had attended an African Union Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa. We were rushing the appointments which are now in contention. We were not rushing this Bill. We have even heard it today, and we know it. Some of the persons we are proposing for appointment ought to have gone through the process prescribed in this Bill. So, we are rushing some things due to lack of trust amongst ourselves; and also due to lack of advice from some quarters. We must trust each other as Kenyans. If some of the wazungu who left this country in 1963 come back and find out what we are doing, they will wonder why we were fighting for independence then, if we are unable to decide on issues that are for our own good. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we were appointing members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the other Commissions, we all agreed on those appointments because, probably, somehow somebody thought very wisely that we should have eight persons in each of those Commissions such that every part of the country was represented. Now that we have four or five positions in the current situation, it becomes a big problem. At one stage, I thought that those appointments were okay, looking at the qualifications of the nominees. However, as we said, it was the process of nominating them which was not right. So, I would say that there are two aspects in this country, which we must seriously address â corruption and ethnicity. I do not know when we shall have a very serious debate, as the leadership of this country, to address those two issues only. We need to address the issue of ethnicity, so that Kenyans can know where we stand. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when hon. Kajwang' was contributing to this debate, he said something which I would like to disassociate myself from. I do not agree with the issue of saying that, because you come from a certain place, if you see the name of a person from that place you go for it. I would not do so myself. I have not done such a thing before. In fact, I have heard that some colleagues here have employed their brothers, sisters, sons and wives to manage the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). I find that to be a bad thing to do. You have to employ people on merit. So, I do not know what the public would say when somebody employs his brother in CDF. So, we should employ people on merit. For example, I appreciate hon. Kajwang' as the Minister of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons. I do not even have to think that he comes from Vihiga District or wherever else. I have appreciated him as a Minister. That is what we want. We want a situation where once you are appointed, you are appreciated. However, that cannot happen if the top leadership of this country is going to be sly. The matter is now being brought to Parliament. We saw this last year and the years before last year. When a matter becomes a problem, it is brought to Parliament, so that it can be seen who has voted for it and who has not voted for it and yet the person who is supposed to take that decision has not played his role."
}