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"id": 191785,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Chepkitony",
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"speaker": {
"id": 13,
"legal_name": "Lucas Kipkosgei Chepkitony",
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"content": "Thank you very much, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me an opportunity to contribute to this Bill. The Bill has arisen out of what happened in this country. What happened was unfortunate. It is common sense that ethnicity in this country has played both negative and positive roles. We have constituencies which are delineated in terms of ethnicity. People of different ethnic groups live in certain areas and they are given constituencies. People also live in areas with mixed ethnic communities. An example is Nairobi and other settlement areas. So, to me, if this Bill is passed, it will only apply to areas with mixed ethnic communities and a place like Nairobi, which is a national city, which controls employment. Otherwise, if you go to the North Eastern Province, for example, you will find that non-local people are those who have been posted there to work. You will have no reason to hate a Somali tribe person, because you are there to serve them; unless you discriminate. Therefore, as I said, once this Bill is passed, it will only apply in certain areas. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is mention about the kind of people who are to be nominated to serve in the commission. It talks about people of integrity and moral uprightness. This will not determine the output, because the problem of everything is justice. Justice must appear somewhere in the Bill. There is no mention of justice in this Bill. The Bill just talks about ethnicity. I have not seen any clause talking about co-existence and justice. So, we have to look into this because inter-ethnic relations arise from the way people of different ethnic communities treat each other. The perception that members of one community have about members of another community matters a lot. It is the undermining and backbiting of 1522 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 1, 2008 each other that brews trouble. You can hear someone say: \"So-and-so is from that tribe. Look at what they are doing! Look at what they are saying. These people are always like that. They cannot rule this country or they cannot do this.\" Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, such an attitude brings friction, leading to bad inter- ethnic relations. We should learn from other countries, where ethnicity is not a factor any more, like Tanzania. The people who drafted this Bill should have gone to Tanzania on a study tour before they drafted it. They should have gone there to learn how Julius Nyerere managed to control the many tribes in that country such that today, there is no tribalism in that country. There is no negative ethnicity. People co-exist in harmony without any sign of ethnicity. How did it happen in Tanzania? We have this Draft Bill, but we do not know how it will be implemented. We should follow the example of Julius Nyerere and how leaders there managed to overcome the problem of ethnicity. There was mention of the fact that if you look at each one of us, you will see that we have employed a driver or house maid from each of our tribe. There is the Swahili saying which goes that \" Ukarimu huanza nyumbani .\" If you do not employ a person from your area, then who are you serving? Is that negative ethnicity? It is okay to employ personal servants from your community. However, when it comes to national offices, this is where we have to balance. If you go to certain offices, you will find that the secretary, the messenger and other workers, are from the same ethnic community. The officers in the office speak in their vernacular language. If you are a visitor, you will wonder whether it is a public office. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, those are some of the things which promote tribalism. They promote negative ethnicity. You feel offended, because you expect everybody to speak the languages of the office, which are Kiswahili and English. So, such things must be reflected in this Bill. We should provide that the language to be used in public offices must be English and Kiswahili, unless one is talking to his or her mother, who happens to visit that office, and who cannot understand the official languages. There are certain issues like tribal associations emerging. The Gikuyu-Embu-Meru Association (GEMA), for instance, was recently re-launched in Meru. We are talking about this Bill here, while on the other hand, we have such tribal associations coming up again. Such development negates the desired effect of this Bill. Other tribes will follow suit and launch their own tribal associations. They will say: \"Others have their own associations. We are also going to have our own.\" That way, tribalism will continue. Nothing will stop them. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, therefore, we need to look into all issues. The Bill should provide for the banning of such tribal associations, because they will promote negative ethnicity. Another form of negative ethnicity is tribal chauvinism. Members of certain tribes feel that they are more superior than members of other tribes. They believe that they are more intelligent than others. They think that they are better off than others. Such pride will make others feel offended. Violence can arise as a result of such an attitude. Regarding the issue of prosecution, I agree with what is contained in the Bill. The commission should not be given powers of prosecution, as it happened in many other Bills in the past. The proposed commission should only investigate and pass on the matter to the Attorney- General to prosecute. I do not agree with what a previous speaker said - that, the commission should be given powers to prosecute. The power to prosecute should be left with the Attorney- General. Regarding the kind of people to be appointed to serve in the commission, allegations regarding certain individuals having committed offences should have been proved before a court of law. Otherwise, once one is appointed to serve in the Commission, he or she should continue serving, unless someone has evidence from a court of law--- July 1, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1523"
}