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{
    "id": 454402,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/454402/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 363,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kabando wa Kabando",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 31,
        "legal_name": "Kabando wa Kabando",
        "slug": "kabando-kabando"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker. I rise to support this Report. The role of KNCHR is, perhaps, one of those that were initiated early in the regime of the National Rainbow Coalition. There were a lot of expectations that this Commission will help in remedying many of the issues that the previous regime had taken for granted and assist in facilitation for the programming of human rights, governance and recognition of the rights, particularly basic needs that would assist populations from different parts of this country to be mainstreamed. I have two points. One, as we pass the names of the nominees, it is important for this House to say loudly that there are also higher expectations of this Commission in its execution of its mandate and role. I want to reiterate what has been said by my colleagues about the obsession with the political agenda of these commissions. It is important, of course, to check and interrogate what the Executive and Parliament are doing. The citizens, through the commissions that are constitutionally anchored in law, are free to interrogate the Executive and Parliament. However, going by past records, even as we appreciate that there is some work that has been done, there has been too much obsession with political issues. This time, we should appreciate that the mandate of the elected officials constitutionally changed in 2010 when we obtained a new Constitution. Therefore, we must appreciate that we have 47 County Assemblies, an expanded National Assembly with the issues of gender parity and affirmative action anchored in law, and another House to oversee issues of devolution. Therefore, this new team – and I know some of them very well - have the capacity and the requisite intelligence and integrity to do the work completely different from the previous commissions. Those commissions had people who were very loud in political press conferences, demonstrations and activism; not appreciating that this is a constitutional body completely different from KHRC, which is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). Therefore, even with regard to issues of funding, today’s Commission needs to be interrogated by the relevant Departmental Committee. We do not want to have a national body, which is a constitutional body, but which is executing mandates that are sometimes too external and without relevance to the obligations that they are supposed to do as a constitutional body of the State of the Republic of Kenya. Hon. Speaker, for instance, it would be expected that before they talk about which politician, State officer and Cabinet Secretary has done this and that other thing, the issues of basic human needs, food, security and education--- I would have expected, for The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}