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"id": 197865,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/197865/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Karua",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 166,
"legal_name": "Martha Wangari Karua",
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"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Motion before the House, and at outset commend His Excellency the President and the Prime Minister-designate, Mr. Raila, for the historic accord that has restored calm in the country. They, indeed, provided the way forward. They came in at a time when we in the mediation team were stuck in some four issues. They were able to agree on them, and now we can proceed as a united country, and as a House united in the purpose of bringing peace and stability to our country. I want to echo my colleague who has talked about the devastation of the sad events over the last two months, where we lost more that 1,300 lives and over 300,000 people were displaced. It is incumbent upon us, as Members of this House and national leaders in this country, to ensure that we do the best we can to return the lives of the displaced people to normalcy, and to bring in changes such as the constitutional review, legal reforms and institutional changes to ensure that this type of carnage will never again happens in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank all those who have supported this process, especially those from the African continent. I single them out because they supported us unconditionally. They did not issue a single threat, yet they are the ones who played the most important role. They are the unsung heroes of this process. To our friends from the West, I want to say thanks but with reservations. A true friend does not issue threats. A true friend respects you; they make a strong point but with respect. I have always wondered who threatens the United States of America (USA) when they make a mistake in Iraq or elsewhere? Who threatens Britain when they make a mistake? In international relations, a country is sovereign, however tiny or poor. In human relations, every human being is a human being whatever their circumstance. Therefore, friends should deal with each other, not through threats or language that is suggestive of a slave-master relationship, but through a language suggestive of friends. So, my appreciation is limited to those corners. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to say that we also have to open a new chapter as people who have 72 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 12, 2008 been protagonists, so that we modify our language when we refer to each other and when we differ, because that will have a bearing on how we take off. An example is what is going on about remarks made about the accord. Remarks have been made all round, but everybody has their point of view. You respect your view and you will not want to respect the other person's view. We really have to re-process our relations, as members of this House and citizens of this country in order to be able to forge ahead united. Do not preach water and drink wine. Do unto others what you would rather they do unto you. I am not saying that I am above that. We all will have to re-process what we do. It is not easy but it is doable. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this House has a very tall order; the legal reforms that are before us, the constitutional review and our support to all the things that will help bring peace, stability, reconstruction, development and the upward trend of our economy which have all been affected by the unfortunate on-goings of the last two months. But I do believe that we are equal to the task and when we have unity of purpose, then things move faster. I do hope that we will spend sometime and also consider ensuring that we do time together in working out the schedules. It is necessary that we spend time together to bond and re-plan the way we do things. We should also have the commitment to overcome whatever problems that may arise. It is also necessary that we agree that there is no competition between us in terms of the joint agenda. Once we agree on that, we should be able to move together without hitches. I want to wholeheartedly support this Motion and look forward to working for the benefit of all Kenyans. I beg to support."
}