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{
    "id": 386102,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/386102/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 204,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "House we are just a few Senators who have remained to discuss this very important Motion. I think it is the most important one that we have had since we sat this morning. This is because we are talking about the lives of citizens of this country who elected or who we represent in this House and also our lives. If the citizens are not safe out there, we are also not safe wherever we are because we also make our way to the counties. So, it is not just their lives, but even our own lives as the leaders from those areas. I would like to point out what we are seeing in the country right now is more worrying than ever. I would like to say that insecurity is rising to some levels that we have never seen. It is happening in Bungoma County now, in Nyandarua yesterday, Mombasa and in Nairobi. It used to be a preserve of Samburu, Tana River and Mandera counties. But now we are seeing precedents of other areas where we never used to witness this level of insecurity. We need to ask ourselves what is happening in our country. I do hope that now it is touching various areas because when it was Samburu, Tana River and all those areas, it was left just to continue. This is a wake-up call for all of us when we come to terms that we are not safe and that we have to do something regardless of our party affiliations. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, since this is a new Government, we are looking at it very keenly to see how it will deal with issues of insecurity. Definitely, as leaders and legislators, it has our support. But again we also want to see things expedited. We want to see things put in place. Just like those who have spoken before me, this is not a matter that we can be rhetorical about. It is not a matter that we can be saying that we will see what we will do and simply go there, fly in choppers for five minutes, sit in meetings and then come back to Nairobi and then nothing happens until other lives are lost. We see a repeat of the same. It is sad for me to say that schools have reopened because there are children in Samburu who cannot go back to school. There are children in Samburu County who will not sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations (KCPE) in December because of insecurity. I know of cases in Isiolo and Tana River counties where children did not sit for their national examinations because of insecurity. When these children are home for holidays, they are not safe. They are not safe in school and neither are they safe when they are at home. For example, in Baragoi, a Class Four child was shot and beheaded while herding. We have had over 500 police officers in that area since the massacre incident. Right now, they are asking for the removal of those police officers. They would rather stay without them. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as we represent counties here, we know that one way that counties can be suspended is when there is insecurity in that area. Unless there are counties which we want suspended and taken back to the Central Government, we should be informed. We should all collectively secure the interests of those people in the areas where insecurity has been high so that they can benefit from this devolution that we are talking about. In some areas, we know the causes of insecurity. If it is the politicians and other leaders who are instigating violence, they should be arrested and interrogated and, probably, charged. We do not want to see impunity taking roots in our counties. Whereas they are safe with their children in Nairobi or wherever they are, others are suffering. So, let us see things done differently once and for all, so that our people are secure. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}