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{
    "id": 443138,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/443138/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 122,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ndiema",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1067,
        "legal_name": "Henry Tiole Ndiema",
        "slug": "henry-tiole-ndiema"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to also contribute to this Bill which I fully support. In so doing, I want to thank Sen. Wangari for this timely intervention on an issue that has been of concern, not only to the nominated Members of the National Assembly, but to the organizations and the groups which they represent. The decision of Kenyans through the Constitution to provide or to reserve special seats for special groups was well thought out and it had a purpose. This was to ensure that all Kenyans feel included in the processes of legislation and representation. It was unfortunate that most of the country assemblies were constituted without the nominated Members. This really contravened the Constitution. What this Bill seeks to do is to correct that situation and make it clear so that, in future, county assemblies will not be constituted without the nominated Members. This amendment will not only guarantee that gender equality is upheld, but also that affirmative action is done and that other groups are also represented because nominated Members of the County Assemblies are not just the women, but it is also to cater for the youth and the other groups, including those that are marginalized. These amendments have also provoked some thoughts as to the whole process of nomination; whether the way it is being carried out is transparent and is really taking care of the groups that were meant to be taken care of. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have heard that in some counties and even in the Senate here, when it comes to nomination, the issue of regional balance even among those who are nominated has not been taken care of. While some counties do not have nominated Members, others have as much as five or four. My county is fortunate to have two nominated Members and I am glad about it. For the sake of fairness, these nomination seats should be spread out because if it is the disabled, they are all over the country. There is nothing to bar us from making sure that regional balance is also taken care of. There is also another issue of the minorities. The Constitution talks about the marginalized and the minority, but I think time has come for us to define who is a minority at the national level and in every county. A minority at the national level may not be a minority at the county level and a majority at the national level may not be a majority at the county level. It is important that some work needs to be done to determine this because the process of nomination by political parties has some bias in that, at the end of the day, the political parties look at the numbers. If they nominate a certain candidate who comes from a minority group, the minority could as well be the second largest ethnic community and because of numbers they may want to please the majority and, therefore, not go for the absolute minority who is marginalized. There are those minorities whose numbers are so small that some political parties may not take them into consideration. Therefore, it is time that we considered identifying those communities and ring fencing them at the county level to ensure that they are not subjected to marginalization. I have in mind communities like the Sengwer. The Sengwer are not a majority in terms of election. They may never be able to elect one of their own because the practice in Kenya is that it is very difficult. I know in some cases the minorities have been elected, but---"
}