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{
"id": 283200,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/283200/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Musyoka",
"speaker_title": "The Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs",
"speaker": {
"id": 188,
"legal_name": "Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka",
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"content": "I want to make it very clear to all the hon. Members of this House that full and complete consultations have taken place. The two principals have adequately consulted, as a result of which we were given the mandate to bring the names again to this House, in accordance with your ruling. Therefore, the Government is unanimous on this matter. Mr. Speaker, Sir, those who have been following the happenings and goings on at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), commonly referred to as “Integrity House”, know that even employees with ordinary contracts that needed renewal now feel threatened. Their own basic rights are undermined because there is nobody to make decisions with regard to the renewal or otherwise of their contracts. More importantly, as a country, the signal we have been sending out is that we are not serious about fighting corruption. How is it that we can take so long to approve nominees to serve in this Commission? We know that people in this country, and also all our development partners, have been waiting to hear that we have taken a decision in order for them to appreciate that this country is committed to the fight against graft. Mr. Speaker, Sir, therefore, I want to suggest that this afternoon, all of us in this House support and pass this Motion. I know that there are those of us who have some misgivings but we are not dealing with angels here. We have heard arguments in the past to the effect that the proposed persons do not have adequate passion to fight corruption. As I said, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. How do we say that they lack passion without us giving them the opportunity to actually deal with this challenge? All the nominees are professionals and they would not want to be seen like they have let down this country. The fight against corruption is a delicate matter which requires dedication. Time has come for this House to stand together and give these three Kenyan professionals a chance to prove whether they indeed have the passion to fight corruption or they lack the same. Mr. Speaker, Sir, of course this House is not short of options. If they prove that they do not have the passion to do the job, those names can always be brought back here. We can invoke the provision of the Act itself, which deals with the issue of making it impossible for them to proceed with their work, even if it will involve the appointment of a tribunal to investigate them. I know that there is nobody who can be seen to be above the law. If they perform, we will all applaud. If they do not perform, we can operationalize the requirements of the Act that govern their appointment. Since we have in the past exhaustively discussed this matter, I want to urge my honourable colleagues to support this Motion. Even those with a little doubt, because we had a lot of interesting discussion when this matter was brought to the House, we give them the benefit of the doubt. As I said, everybody in this country now knows that this is a country that is governed by the rule of law. Of course, first and foremost, the country is under God but it is also a country that is seriously governed by the rule of law. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is important that we are not seen to be prevaricating, as a House, in trying to approve the nomination of these names because Kenyans countrywide have always been watching. With those remarks, I want to call upon the Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs to second the Motion. Thank you."
}