Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 22109,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/22109/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 406,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Eng. Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the tragedy is that success such as this tends to make people take things for granted. It is time we started to look at our athletes in a different way. A lot of us do not know that for the last 50 years of the Olympics, Kenya has won 26 gold medals. The whole of East Africa comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi has won 28 gold medals. That means that out of the 28 medals that have come to East Africa from the Olympics in the last 50 years, Kenya has accounted for 26 out of 28 medals. In fact, the only other people from this region to have ever won gold medals in the last 50 years is one Benuse Niogabo from Burundi and Jonah Kibwa from Uganda. This is something that we have to celebrate. Look at, for example, the countries that we have come shoulder to shoulder with in the just concluded world athletics. The United States of America, a big country with over 300 million people, one of the best nominal GDP per capita in the world at almost US$50,000 and Kenya with its miserly GDP per capita of just about US$1,000 is able to fight and stand shoulder to shoulder with these giants of the world economy. My prayer is that the same way we have celebrated our athletes in Daegu, let us now use this occasion to plan lasting societal cordiality among the different communities in Kenya. I am talking about the evils of negative ethnicity. When we were cheering our leaders, when, for example, Ezekiel Kemboi sang “ Yamune mama ” in Daegu, even those of us who do not know what yamune mama meant, we cheered it because it he was singing for Kenya. That is why we should gain from this. Let our tourism build on the back of this monumental success. Let societal togetherness and brotherhood build from this monumental success. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I conclude - I am glad my party leader is here - my appeal to him and His Excellency the President is to make these people national heroes. They deserve to be the heroes of Kenya. If a Kenyan can beat the great Ethiopian Mesret Defao twice in one tournament, that is a national hero. If a Kenyan like David Lekuta Rudisha can break the world record twice in a week, that is a national hero. If Kemboi can lead Kipruto to a one-two finish in the steeple chase, those are national heroes. I think it is time we started to appreciate these people. For those of us who have travelled a lot, you go to places like America and all the public places are adorned with images of their heroes, for example; Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Michael Jordan and the great Willis Chamberland. Why can we not do the same for our people? It is time we recognized our Olympic champions. It is time we lauded them. It is time we hoisted these people who make us so happy; these people who make Kenya so great. It is time we hoisted them to be the real heroes of this country, the champions that they are and our national examples even to our children. With those remarks, I wish to support and ask hon. Mwiria to second."
}