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{
    "id": 184972,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/184972/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 254,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Wambugu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 149,
        "legal_name": "Clement Muchiri Wambugu",
        "slug": "clement-wambugu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this chance to contribute to this very important Motion. It is a Motion that has been long overdue. It is actually very sad that now, after 45 years, we are remembering the people who have made us sit in this House. From the outset, let me say that I rise to support this Motion, especially when we are talking about our freedom fighters; the people who made this country the way it is. I remember when we were in school and we were trying to get the meaning of MAU MAU. We were told that it is: \" Mzungu Arudi Ulaya Mwafrika Apate Uhuru.\" That is why we are having the freedom to sit in this House and even express ourselves. It is sad because even after we realized what our freedom fighters did, we sat quietly and let them suffer. We have not even recognised the work that they have done. When they went to the forest, most of the land that they had was taken away by the white men. Thereafter, most of our people were taken to detention camps where they suffered greatly. Their families were left homeless. Most of the freedom fighters were men. Many orphans October 8, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2567 were left behind. Most of the people were left without any type of livelihood. Recently, we had the issue of unlawful groups which, I believe, most likely, could have come out because of the neglect of our freedom fighters. That is why we got into a lot of problems in this country. We are still going through the same problems. My wish is for us to move forward this time and recognize our people positively. How can we do that? First and foremost, my wish is that we protect the sites or caves where they used to live in. We understand that there are some people who are already taking measures to go and take those sites and destroy them to their advantage. They want to build hotels. But I wish those caves could be protected. Any time the Government wants to utilise them, the freedom fighters should be consulted. In case there are any benefits accruing from that, they should also be considered. We should also allow our freedom fighters to open up offices at the divisional and locational levels, so that they can have areas where they can go and interact with the other people. That is because even up to now, there is still a big and serious stigma that anybody called Mau Mau is supposed to be a terrorist. We need to change that. Let us allow them to open offices at locational and divisional levels, so that we can also go there and get the actual history about those people. That is because most of the history that we are getting was written by the colonialists. We also, as a country, need to establish a fund for the surviving freedom fighters, where they can go and get some bit of money for their survival and daily needs. I think it has also been mentioned that most of them are living in abject poverty. It would be good for the Government to provide free medical care to the surviving Mau Mau and other freedom fighters, and also extend the same to other members of their families. It was said here before that we, Kenyans, have a habit of recognizing our people after their death. I think we need to change that and start recognizing our people when they are still alive. My wish is that we start naming most of the roads in our country in remembrance of most of our heroes. I have some in Mathioya and most of those people are still crying. The last time they wrote to the Government, they were told that there is no Act that governs the registration or even naming of those roads in their favour. I wish the Government would take challenge almost immediately so that some of those roads, other than naming them \"Ds\", \"Es\" and \"Fs\", which do not have any meaning to us, be named after some of those people like Dedan Kimathi, Mwangi Kibiro and all the others. With those few remarks, I beg to support the Motion."
}