Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 227938,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/227938/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 315,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kosgey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 177,
        "legal_name": "Henry Kiprono Kosgey",
        "slug": "henry-kosgey"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion. The reason why hon. Members are getting a bit emotional is because they want to urge the Government to perform its functions. The purpose of a Government is to protect the lives and property of its people. The root cause of that problem does not matter. That is a situation that has got out of hand. The Government has not performed its functions. The Minister of State for Administration and National Security has not performed his functions. That is one glaring example of where the Government has failed. The Government should admit that it has failed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Prof. Kibwana has made reference to the former regime. The April 4, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 357 former regime did not kill people. About 150 people have died as a result of the Mt. Elgon clashes. Most of those people have died in the last eight months. This Government has, all the while, been watching. The Government sent some security forces to Mt. Elgon District, but what did they do? They went there, burnt houses and participated in killing innocent Kenyans in the name of restoring law and order. They have become part of the problem. What have the officers on the ground done since the problem started way back when we were in power? Those Government officers have colluded with people on the ground. In fact, we have information that they have been selling land belonging to the allottees and, thereby, compounding the problem. But instead of the Government setting up a committee of independent people to look into that problem and stop the suffering of innocent people, it is mixing politics with the land problems. That has resulted in a situation where we have people who have taken the law into their own hands. The Sabaot Land Defence Force has some legitimate reasons. The Government should not dismiss them as criminals. They may be committing crimes but, why did they take the law into their own hands? Has the Minister examined why those people took the law into their own hands? The people of Mt. Elgon District are one and the same. Classifying them as Ndorobo, Soy, Mosop or Sabaot does not help. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are pleading with the Minister of State for Administration and National Security to find time and visit that area. He should have a properly constituted committee to look into that issue independently, so that a solution can be found. He should declare an amnesty so that all those people could return to their land, especially those who reside in Phase I and Phase II, where there is no dispute. At the moment, they are looking for people in Phase I and Phase II, but they have run away because of insecurity. In fact, why has the Minister closed the district? That is a colonial thing. We used to hear of districts which were closed during the colonial time. Maybe, that is because the Minister served as District Officer during the colonial era. He still has the training that one way of sorting out something is to close it. Mr. Michuki, that is not the solution. We are now in a different era!"
}