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"id": 197944,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mwathi",
"speaker_title": "The Member for Limuru",
"speaker": {
"id": 104,
"legal_name": "Peter Mungai Mwathi",
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"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, my names are Mr. Peter Mwathi from Limuru Constituency. First, I would like to thank my constituents for electing me to this House on my first attempt. I know they have put a lot of respect and trust in the work that I am going to do with other hon. Members here. Secondly, I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate every hon. Member of Parliament here, for having been elected to do the noble work of representing our people, and discussing issues to do with the resources of this great nation. Thirdly, I would like to congratulate the team of negotiators from ODM and those from PNU for a job well-done. They set aside their differences, came together and showed magnanimity at a time of need, to steer this country towards a path of peace and reconciliation. 104 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES March 12, 2008 Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to support this Motion but also bring to the attention of hon. Members that the utterances we might be making outside there - as much as we discuss peace and reconciliation here - may still continue to cause havoc within our communities. As we speak, I know that there are areas where violence still continues to take place. Over lunch hour, I got information that there were houses being burnt in Laikipia and Molo. We are here hugging ourselves saying that we have put aside our differences while the poor person out there is still suffering. I, therefore, take this opportunity to call upon my colleagues in this Parliament, to ensure that they preach peace and genuine peace. They should not go out there to preach water and drink wine. Hon. Members, let what you preach during the day be what you preach to your people at night. It is very important to have peace in this country for the success of the Accord that was reached at by our very able negotiators, in order to have real peace in this country. It is very important for each one of us to go out and condemn the situation. In fact, after today's Sitting or tomorrow, we should come together and issue statements, jointly, from ODM and PNU. I believe that we are now one and should show people out there that we are speaking in unison for the sake of true peace and reconciliation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as we discuss and anticipate the resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), it is important for us to think about the students or children who are in the IDP camps and who are now candidates in Class Eight and Form Four. I happen to have one IDP camp in Limuru which has about 10,000 people. You can imagine the number of children in this camp. The biggest problem those people have is the placement of children in schools. We have worked very hard to have those children placed in schools. We have also talked to the principals and headmasters of various institutions not to charge them any fees. However, the issue of registration for examinations has not been solved. It is, therefore, very important for the Government of National Unity that we are forming, as a matter of urgency, to address the issue of payment or waiver of the examination registration fees for the Class Eight and Form Four students. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I would like to echo the sentiments of Mr. Midiwo on the issue of land. As we establish the Justice, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we have to address the land issue and have proper national land policies. As we talk about reducing the demand for land, we must know that in this august House, there are great men of Kenya who own huge chunks of land which are not utilised while our own people do not have any piece of land. In that respect, I think that the land policy is long overdue. It should address those injustices not just from Independence but from the time we had the colonialists who brought injustices by placing people where they did not belong."
}