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"id": 188066,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Muthama",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this Bill. I rise to support this very important Bill. I think it is acceptable to all Kenyans. It will chart the way forward in terms of bringing peace and stability to this country. If what is contained in it is implemented, it will guide this country properly. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to refer to Clause 5 of the Bill. It says:- \"The objectives of the Commission shall be to promote peace, justice, national unity, healing and reconciliation among the people of Kenya---\" All these are issues which are known to Kenyans. Every Kenyan knows very well that he needs to abide by what is being advocated under this clause. Commissions have been formed before. We had internal problems like what happened early this year, following the December elections. I fail to understand - and I am not convinced entirely - what changes will be effected by creating this commission. I know that Kenyans will do anything within their means to achieve peace in this country. This is one way of doing it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Clause 6 of the Bill says:- \"The functions of the Commission are to (a) investigate violations and abuses of human rights relating to killings, abductions, disappearances, detentions, torture, ill- treatment and expropriation of property suffered by any person between 12th December, 1963 and 28th February, 2008;---\" These issues which will be addressed by the proposed commission, are not new. We have security agencies in this country, which have dealt with these issues before. I agree that with the addition of the proposed commission, things may change, but we need to do more than just forming the proposed commission. Kenyans are being asked to talk among themselves in a friendly way. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, some legislators in the Tenth Parliament failed to understand what negotiations are required amongst Kenyans. Some Kenyans have been mistreated and intimidated by their brothers for a long time. Some of them were evicted from their farms. 2124 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 24, 2008 They bought those pieces of land and settled on them. They worked hard and produced food to feed other Kenyans. They also used to pay taxes to the Government. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if the law of the land is not going to be obeyed, or the law is going to be set aside--- If the Constitution that Kenyans spend money to come up with, is sidelined, or put aside, and replaced with a framework document, then I do not think that there is any commission that will ever do anything to change that. I am suggesting that in the formation of this Commission, our laws of the land must be respected. It should be very clear that I do not need to negotiate with my neighbour in a friendly manner, so that I may live well and in a peaceful situation on my own land. The negotiations between myself and my neighbour, if we cannot talk as friends, should be guided by the law. The law should come in and say, \"since the two of you cannot live together and have problems, this is what the law says.\" Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you look at Clause 10 of this document, it says that the Commission shall consist of seven Commissioners, of whom three shall be non-citizens and selected by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities. With the knowledge that we have as Kenyans, and the respect that we command internationally, after 45 years of Independence, and being a free country, while the idea is good, it does not safeguard our respect. To have people from outside Kenya, who are not citizens of this country, to come and investigate our internal problems and tell us that this or that is happening is not good. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, what we know is that the creators of these problems are not the common wananchi. Where is reconciliation and healing coming from in Kenya? We fought for our Independence and we are free people, yet we now need healing! That is a very serious issue which needs to be addressed with all the seriousness that it deserves. The four Members out of the seven will be citizens. We have the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS), who are paid money to tell us what will be happening in the coming days. We have the police force that is paid to make sure that security is provided to all citizens. We have the military, which is catered for to make sure that our boundaries are well-protected from outside aggression. We have other commissions within the country, which are still functioning and spending taxpayers' money. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I said, it is a good idea to have an additional one but the law must be followed to make sure that the Commission that is going to be put in place does not fail to perform and then in another two years, we are here again proposing to come up with another Commission to replace the existing one. If that one does not also perform, then in another two years we have another one. So, in ten years we are going to have ten commissions which are doing the same business. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to kindly refer to what happened during the post-election period. I want to say that Kenyans do not like to discuss and negotiate with one another. Some people say, for example, that they do not know why they should negotiate with someone who has bought a piece of land in Runda and constructed a house. That land belonged to someone, somewhere at some given time. What difference does it make if another Kenyan buys a piece of land in Taita, Rift Valley or in Maasailand? The land where Parliament stands today was not empty but it belonged to someone sometime. The right of ownership should be respected and all the problems we are having today are because of land. To get to a situation where we have to form a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, it is because we, leaders, have incited people; we have told them to harass certain communities so that they do not vote for certain candidates. We should carry the responsibility squarely. We should desist from misguiding and misleading and lead our people with truth and openness. I want to beg my children to be Kenyans and be free to go and swim down in Mombasa. I want them to go fishing in Kisumu. I also in turn want the Kisumu people to come to Machakos July 24, 2008 PARLIMENTARY DEBATES 2125 and work there. People from Nyanza are very good stone makers and builders. Since we have a lot of stones there, they can do dressing there. This is the kind of life we want. So, with these remarks, I beg to support."
}