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"speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to use this opportunity to, first and foremost, congratulate the two Senators who have joined us this afternoon, Sen. Godliver Omondi and Sen. Njoroge. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, since the law is an ass, let me also use this opportunity to pay tribute to our two Senators, Linet Nyakeriga and Harold Kipchumba, who left us. In fact, it should not be lost to this House that before Sen. Kipchumba left us, he had already interrogated this problem. In fact, he had some matter before the Office of the Speaker, wanting that we pre-empt this matter, but he has left before it was discussed. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, most of my colleagues have spoken to Ms. Sarah Serem. Allow me to speak to Sarah Serem along with her fellow commissioners. The SRC was created with a specific objective that is very authoritative. However, it is being abused now. I will just take two of them. The first one is that this Commission, in discharging its mandate, is supposed to protect the sovereignty of the people. The second one is that it is supposed to promote constitutionalism. Now, if the purpose is to protect the sovereignty, which is exercised through the elected representatives; the President, Deputy President, Governor, Senator, Member of the National Assembly and Member of the County Assembly, then they are undermining the Constitution. If, as it is written in Article 249, it is supposed to promote constitutionalism, the fact that at the county government the principle of separation of powers is only exercised between the executive committee and the county assembly, it means that they are undermining constitutionalism at the level of the county assembly and executive. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, what are the consequences? The first consequence is that, unfortunately, what we are going to achieve for the next five years, is that we shall effectively devolve grand corruption from Nairobi to Kakamega, Siaya, Homa Bay and all over the country. Petty corruption takes place all the time in the countryside, but the grand corruption that the Auditor General was speaking to, where we lose over Kshs300 billion every financial year, takes place in Nairobi. Now, we are taking it to the countryside. We cannot and must not sit down and allow that to take place, unless we were never in the struggle. It is not child’s play. Some people look at this Constitution as an opportunity to make a kill and become the “big man” of Africa and make money. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, Ms. Sarah Serem is on a very short lease, because in her Commission, we have somebody who has been recommended by the Attorney General. That person takes brief from the Attorney General to go and tell her what to do. By the time the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Finance takes brief from somebody to go and tell Sarah Serem what to do, many things happen. But when Members of the National Assembly, who because of their famous tyranny of numbers, serve a very crucial role in sustaining the Jubilee Government, wanted money, the Executive was there and sorted it immediately. But the same Executive, when approached by the Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs,) the day before yesterday, the Deputy President told them that his The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}