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{
    "id": 191003,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/191003/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 176,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Eng. Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker. Unlike my colleague who has just spoken, I stand to oppose the Motion. While the objective of the Motion is good, I am not convinced that this Motion, on its own, can achieve much. We all know what happened during the post-election violence. Hate messages were sent through radio and electronic mail. In some instances, hate messages were even sent through churches and schools. They were even painted as gravity on walls. I do not think that by merely knowing the owner of a mobile phone number, one will be able to control this practice. In any case, are we able to say for sure how much of what happened was contributed by the hate messages? We know that the latest record of real genocide in this region happened in Rwanda in 1994 and yet, at that time, there were no mobile phones in Rwanda. In any case, we also know that at the moment, technology exists, which can be used to trap users of mobile phones, whether they are registered or not. We know from police records, of the existence of over 1,000 such cases. People were sending hate messages, and the police were able to track and identify them. In my view, it is not necessary that we register the users of mobile phones to be able to control such misuse. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, even as we debate this Motion, we must ask ourselves: What effect is this going to have on the roll-out and uptake of communications services in Kenya? In my view, the way to get out of these hate messages business is to address the real issues. This country has a serious culture of impunity which must be addressed. It has a serious culture of inequality in the distribution of natural resources. This must also be addressed. The other day, I listened to the Minister for Finance when he was launching the Public Procurement Oversight Authority. In his own words, he said that the procurement process in Kenya, currently needs Kshs30 billion a year. This amount of money will be enough to employ three million youths and pay them a salary of Kshs10,000 per month. Unless we address the culture of impunity and deliberate inequality in the distribution of natural resources, we will not get away from this. Perhaps, it is also time we asked ourselves why our neighbours in the south, for example, in Tanzania, the various communities are not sending hate messages to each other. Why did it become necessary for us in Kenya, on the eve of the 2007 General Elections, to start hating each other? The real issues lie in the very fabric of this country. We must address the causes that bred inequality in our society, to be able to address these matters. Thank you very much."
}