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"id": 253637,
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"speaker_name": "Mr. Kenyatta",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I said from the very onset, the purpose of our Committee was not to engage in witch-hunt and mudslinging. But as you, yourself, put it when you allowed this Motion to be debated by this House, you indicated that this is a matter of national interest. That is why you gave a careful consideration and said that we needed to debate this particular Motion in order to deal with the issue of corruption; corruption not of an individual, but that of a systematic method that has been used to defraud the people of this Republic. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, a number of issues have been raised by those who have contributed, with some questioning, especially, the integrity of Mr. John Githongo and the dossier which a good portion of this report is based upon. Indications that our agenda was possibly malicious--- I can say that the credibility of Mr. Githongo was, up until the time of his dossier, never put to question. Mr. Githongo was recruited by the NARC administration from Transparency International. I want to believe that he was recruited according to his credentials. I would like to reiterate that everything we put in our report was based on evidence. It was not on conjecture or anything else. When I moved this Motion, I said that I have had a great deal of respect for His Excellency Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs. But today, the credibility and intention of the Committee was, once again, put to task over some of the content of the Report, especially with regard to His Excellency the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs. I wish to clarify and state that, although in all the evidence we received from His Excellency the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs, he consistently referred to the French company that was involved in the implementation of that project. What was clear to the Committee is that this Government did not contract with the French company but rather, contracted with Anglo Leasing who, in turn, sub- contracted to the French company. Based on the evidence that we received, it was not the French company that approached the Government. The Government did not approached the French company. It was Anglo Leasing that approached the Government and then, in turn, approached the French company. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I said from the outset that our Committee was not a team of investigators. It was not our business to determine guilt, because that duty is vested on those who are better equipped to do it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, our first recommendation is that the Director of the Kenya Anti- Corruption Commission should liaise with the Attorney-General, the Commissioner of Police and other relevant bodies with a view to prosecuting persons who were involved in the negotiations, approval and procurement of passport issuing equipment. When we did that, we were opening the door for further investigations. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what concerns this House more is how to ensure that the system of security-related procurement in future is done in a much more transparent and accountable manner. The bulk of our recommendations are about that. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we adjourned for the whole of last week to mourn our colleagues April 18, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 507 and other Government officers who died in a plane crash on Monday last week. This House is fully aware that there is a lot of loss of human life in this country. Our security forces are having a very difficult time controlling and containing insecurity. It makes sense if we, as a House, ensured that whatever monies are put to provide security and ensuring our security forces are better equipped and money is spent properly, rather than those monies finding their way into the pockets of a few individuals who have no interest in this country or its people."
}