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"speaker_name": "Mrs. Ngilu",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Kitui Central",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand to support the Presidential Address that was delivered to this House during the State opening of the Tenth Parliament. I equally support the Prime Minister-designate, for all the statements that he has been making to bring peace in this country. This is the first time in my 15 years in Parliament that I address this august House when we have just gone through a crisis after a general election. In the past, we have held elections and have come here in a very peaceful atmosphere. Unfortunately, this was not the case this time. I am pleased that at long last, peace has been restored in this country. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to commend the international community for helping us to bring peace to the country. However, I believe that we could have brought the desired peace. We really did not have to get the international community involved in what was happening in the country for us to get His Excellency the President and the Prime Minister-designate to sit together and agree on what needed to be done in this country. It is very unfortunate for us, as a country, that those of us who have been fighting for change in this country were the same people who have brought this kind of problem to Kenyans. We have been fighting for change in this country with His Excellency the President and the Prime Minister-designate, Mr. Raila. Indeed, in 2002 we thought that we had arrived. We thought we had actually got the change that we wanted, only for us to see ourselves going back to the same undemocratic practices that we were fighting. I hope that as His Excellency the President serves his final term, he will leave a legacy that Kenyans will be proud of. That is a new Constitution that Kenyans have been fighting for. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, listening to both His Excellency the President and the Prime Minister-designate I think they have decided to work together. They are the only ones who, I believe, can bring lasting peace to this country. I really commend His Excellency the President for, in his wisdom and humility, he has agreed that he is going to work with Mr. Raila. This has been my prayer since 2002. That is why we were really happy when they decided to work together. But since we are all condemning ethnicity, it has got to start with us in this House. In 2007, we all went back to our tribal, if you may say, cocoons and decided to talk of \"mundu wa nyumba; mwana waMumbi or mwana wa Mwende \". The only person who stood as a real nationalist, I want to say here, is Mr. Raila. All the others went back to seek support from their own tribes. I hope this will be the last time we will have people only going for one of their on. People from Central Province should be able to stand up and do what Mr. Raila's father did when Kenyatta was in detention. He said that he did not want freedom until Kenyatta was freed. In 2002, Mr. Raila said that he would support Mr. Kibaki instead of Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta. He did so. When will people from Central Province also say that they can support somebody else? We are all Kenyans! Let us start here in this House and ensure that we actually live up to what we say. All of us who have spoken on the Floor have condemned ethnicity. With regard to what we agreed to do, I hope that we are going to realise it this time because it is the same players. We have all agreed that we must fight corruption and tribalism, we must have a new Constitution, we must share the resources available to us equitably and ensure 344 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 20, 2008 satisfactory leadership. Our people want to be part and parcel of the decisions that are being made by the leadership. We have to go back to our people and listen to them. They do not want us to load it over them. When I say so, I am also thinking about women. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, although His Excellency the President recognised the fact that we now have 21 women Members of Parliament, yet we still see ourselves not being recognised. I still cannot understand why the President, in his half Cabinet, has only two women. Surely, for how long are we going to talk about representation of women? We work as hard as our male counterparts in looking for votes and fighting for positions, but when it comes to sharing, we are relegated to the back seat. I think, maybe, we will be expected to do what men have been doing. Sometimes you fight until you almost kill each other. Since women will not do that, could we ask that we be recognised? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I know that both PNU and ODM will have a position of a Deputy Prime Minister. In our case, we do not want to go the way we went in NARC by not honouring our agreement. Ours, I believe has already gone, but PNU has the other position of Deputy Prime Minister that has got to be given to a woman. We shall be fighting for that as women outside there. In fact, PNU has a woman we recognise in this country. She has done very well. However, we shall say that outside there because we hope that with the Presidency and the Vice- Presidency positions being occupied by men, then the Deputy Premiership in PNU should go to a woman."
}