GET /api/v0.1/hansard/entries/34949/?format=api
HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 34949,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/34949/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 352,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "(Dr. Mwiria): Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to congratulate the Minister and also support this Political Parties Bill. My comments start with Clause 5 on the tribunal, especially on the selection of the panel. I think it would be unfortunate if the business of selecting that important panel was left only to the Chief Justice. I think there should be a committee that he can work with. However, more importantly, it is important to ensure that there is a variety of experiences and disciplines. That is because as it stands, it will require people with legal background. Article 14 on inclusiveness says that political parties must not be ethnic, gender insensitive and so on. It is extremely important especially for us, given the experiences we have gone through in the last many years. However, I think it should go further and say that when you form coalitions on the basis of ethnic groups, you are still being ethnic. So, you may have a political party and the problem may not just be limited to the membership being Luos, Luhyas or Kisiis but, also, when you behave like ODM(K) and bring together several ethnic groups or PNU that brought together several ethnic groups to form a political party, you are being ethnic. That is because you are not including the whole of Kenya. So, even those ethnic arrangements that put specific ethnic groups together, are also ethnic and tribal, and I think there should be an effort to gurard against that. Similarly, there is the issue of regional groupings. The other day, the KAMATUSAS were saying that they need to unite. The other day, somebody wanted to form a unity between the Kisiis and the Kalenjins. The Luhyas may want to come together. The Mount Kenya people may want to come together and talk about charting the communities’ destiny. Why can we not chat our destiny on the basis of political parties? Why do we have to sit as ethnic groupings to decide where we should move as a country? I think that is very retrogressive and it is something that we must be on the lookout. I would like this particular Bill to have sanctions against politicians who go round saying: “Now, we think our ethnic communities should go this way. This is good for our community.” In essence, they actually mean: “It is good for me because I will be appointed the Minister or get some other benefits from the political party.” That is an important matter. I think that is an important matter. As much as we talk against ethnicity, if we let politicians to just go around forming alliances on the basis of ethnicity and comprising themselves into ethnic groups, then we will not be dealing with that issue."
}