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{
"id": 197405,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197405/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Saitoti",
"speaker_title": "The Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security",
"speaker": {
"id": 205,
"legal_name": "George Muthengi Kinuthia Saitoti",
"slug": "george-saitoti"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is a moment of truth for Kenyans. This is a moment for us. We cannot debate this Bill without knowing what has brought us to where we are. We have to do that. 190 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 18, 2008 We have to do so, so that as we pass this Bill, we ensure that what happened never happens in this country again. That is the gist of what we are talking about today. This Bill is so important, because it is supposed to make us ask ourselves questions. We are supposed to ask ourselves: How come this country went to an extent where we have had to come to this? This Bill needs to be passed without much ado. I support it wholeheartedly. I support this Bill, because those of us who have been able to move around and see those people who are living in the IDP camps--- When you see those people, and you have got some conscience, your tears drop, because you see the faces of people who are very tortured, very troubled people. In the camps are children in very difficult situations. These children are not going to school. People have become beggars. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank His Excellency Kofi Annan. He is a very distinguished international civil servant, who toiled here, even when things were difficult, to ensure that this Accord was be agreed on. I remember talking to him and he told me, as a friend: \"I am not going to leave Kenya. I am going to be patient until some agreement has come up\". He said so because Kenya is a strategic country. He said that if this country broke down, the economy of the neighbouring countries would collapse, and Africa would have a very bad name. The key thing is that, although the Accord has been agreed on, this Bill is going to be the cement that will be put in to ensure that this Accord will not be torn into pieces; it will remain. While it is in place, I hope that Kenyans will have confidence that hon. Members have now agreed and resolved in no uncertain terms that we want peace. We want our people to live together. We want a prosperous nation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when we are done with this particular Bill and the next one, I want to ask all of us, as hon. Members, to go out all over the country on a campaign of reconciliation, and tell our people to live together. This campaign should be to tell our people to reject tribalism, and to reject anybody who tries to divide Kenyans. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is God who brought us to this country; it is not an individual. Whatever tribe you are, it is God who brought you here. You, as a human being, cannot pretend whatsoever to be able to correct God. I also want to urge hon. Members that, if they have IDPs in their constituencies, they should be in the forefront to ensure that those people go back to where they moved from. I know that will be the most difficult exercise. But, as patriotic Kenyans, we should stand firm. We should ensure that nobody remains in the IDP camps. This is going to require courage and humility. It may very well require that we recant some of the sentiments we may have had. This is why I believe that the IDPs should go back to their homes. In the same breath, in this era of the free primary education programme, no child in this country should go without attending school. It is criminal to deny a child that right. The children in the IDPs should go to school. Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to strongly support the passage of this Bill."
}