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"speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
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"legal_name": "Wangari Muta Maathai",
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"content": "Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to today's Motion. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to express satisfaction to a certain extent with our Press. When I recall sometime back, it was so difficult to have a free Press in this country. Newspapers, television and radio stations were controlled. It was so difficult to get a second opinion from any side. At this time, it is really a moment to be grateful for the road that we have walked to come to this far. I appreciate the fact that we do not only have newspapers in foreign languages, but also in local languages. I remember this is a new opening in our country. There was a time when local radio and television stations were completely unknown in this country. Then came a time when we had radio stations opening up in local languages. I am saying this because, any country in the world that has moved forward, including those colonised and forced to speak in foreign languages, has recognised the need for people to speak in their own languages. In fact, in the Cable News Network (CNN), there is a saying that, \"the world makes more sense when it speaks your language.\" This is used to advertise the use of Arabic Language. That statement always speaks to me because I know, for sure, that it is extremely important for a people to speak in their own language. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is quite possible for us to speak English Language or Kiswahili Language very well, but then we forget that majority of our people do not speak these foreign languages. For us, as a country, to develop it is very important to speak in our languages. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when we have national days, I sometimes observe that the President has a statement either in Kiswahili Language or English Language. I want to thank the President because these days he usually has a speech that starts with Kiswahili and then English. It is an official statement translated into Kiswahili. In other words, the two speeches are exactly the same. We know in the past how the President would speak in English Language and then Kiswahili Language as if he was giving a completely different speech targeted to a non-serious population. Sometimes, it was completely different from what he read in English Language. That meant that he was speaking to two different people; the foreigners, who understood English and his own people who understood Kiswahili Language. The speech in Kiswahili Language was usually July 3, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2195 light, and not serious. It never referred to the serious issues addressed in English Language. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is an extremely dangerous tendency. I am happy that it has now been rectified. When the President speaks, whether in Kiswahili or English language, the people of Kenya understand his speech. Even then, I know that at the local level, people do not understand either English or Kiswahili Language. I have seen people in my constituency, when the District Officer (DO) reads the speech, it is often in Kiswahili Language. I know, without any exaggeration, that at least 70 per cent of the people he or she is addressing do not understand Kiswahili Language well enough to understand the speech. Therefore, here we are, standing in front of our own people, speaking to them in a language they do not understand. Of course, out of respect, when the speech is over, we all clap, although we have not followed it. This is something that should be addressed. If we are surely and sincerely addressing our people, we ought to address them in a language they understand. If the speech is read in Nyeri, for example, it should be read in Kikuyu Language! If it is read in Nandi, it should be read in Kalenjin Language. If it is read in Luo land, it should be read in Dholuo Language. In that way, the people would understand what their President is saying."
}