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{
    "id": 427619,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/427619/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 332,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kembi-Gitura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 242,
        "legal_name": "James Kembi Gitura",
        "slug": "kembi-gitura"
    },
    "content": "I am obliged, Mr. Speaker, Sir, although it is unusual to punish somebody when they are already on their feet. Article 1 of the Constitution, as has been clearly stated by my colleagues, provides that the people of Kenya would exercise their sovereignty through Parliament. So what we are doing is historical and important because for the first time, if we pass this Motion, the people of Kenya would have made a decision that 310 troops be deployed to South Sudan. This is very important not just for the national psyche but for the right of the people to make a decision like that. I want to applaud the passage of the new Constitution because we now have pure democracy which is the rule of the people, by the people, for the people. The history of deploying troops has been said here and I need not go back there. Mr. Speaker, Sir, why do we want troops in South Sudan? It is common knowledge that for a long time, there has been no peace and security in the Horn of Africa region and that this has been a very great cost to those countries that have had peace continuously like Kenya and Tanzania and all those other counties, even those that have spats over lack of peace in their countries. All of us know and appreciate that without peace and security, however, much you try there cannot be meaningful development in a country. We know that because of lack of peace in the Horn of Africa and generally in the IGAD region, there are a lot of small arms making rounds in this part of the world. We know that what my colleague called internal security challenges is not as easy to tackle as it would appear on the face of it because however much we may try to deal with the situation internally, the regional peace impacts directly on our country and what happens in those other countries when the movement of those small arms affects us directly. When you look at the broader system of the necessity of peace and security in this region and why I applaud the President for bringing it to us, the National Security Council having made a decision subject to our concurrence, how are we going to develop as a region? I am a big proponent of the East African Community. Anybody who has read history knows that for more than 400 years, there was continuous bloodbath in Europe culminating in the first and second world wars in 1914 and 1939/45. One of the reasons the European Community - as it was then called – was formed, was to have people within certain boundaries who would agree largely to abide by certain 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."
}