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{
    "id": 174965,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/174965/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 348,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Imanyara",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 22,
        "legal_name": "Gitobu Imanyara",
        "slug": "gitobu-imanyara"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me join my colleagues in supporting this very important constitutional amendment Bill. There were times when a Bill like this one would never have seen the Floor of the House. I am glad that the Mover and the Seconder of the Bill are people with a history of reform in this country. We remember very well those days when this process of reform was continuing. There were some people in this House who claimed that we were cutting a Mugumo tree with a razor blade. I am glad that the Mover and the Seconder are not among those who thought that this day would never come. So, today is a great day. The consultations that have taken place to bring us to this day are as historic as the Bill itself. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish that His Excellency the President could have joined us in this historic day, when we are beginning the true process of constitution-making in this country. Some of the consultations that have been taking place in the so-called \"Speaker's Kamukunji \" would never have been necessary, had we been consulting in the full glare of the Kenyan public, on the Floor of this House. So, we did not have to have Speaker's Kamukunji to debate on issues that are so critical. Kenyans would want to know what Members of Parliament are discussing. Nevertheless, now that we have come to this occasion, I look forward to a new constitution that does not please individuals, but which is geared to posterity, and which is meant for the good 4132 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES December 16, 2008 of this country. I am grateful that the Chair itself has seen the need to re-arrange the Order Paper, so that Order No.8 came at the end. Had it come before this Bill, these amendments would not have been carried, because there are very serious misgivings about the composition of that Bill. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we move towards the passage of this law, so that we can appoint a Select Committee, let us remember that we are not making it for a select group of people. We are not making a new constitution to satisfy a small section of the Kenyan population, but the Kenyan population of over 40 million people of this generation and another generation to come. Therefore, there must be as wide consultation, even in agreeing on the list of the membership of the Select Committee, as there have been in getting this amendment Bill to come to the House. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I conclude my remarks by congratulating those who have brought us this far and, particularly the Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs. This is because some of the unsung heroes in this constitution-making process are the Members of that Committee. If you look at the list of names that have been proposed, we are leaving out names of key Members of the Departmental Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs that has brought us this far."
}