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{
    "id": 456366,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/456366/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 431,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Kanyua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 981,
        "legal_name": "Priscilla Nyokabi Kanyua",
        "slug": "priscilla-nyokabi-kanyua"
    },
    "content": "life time, he is not allowed to have other wives. He lives a monogamous life. In his death, when he is not even there to answer questions and clarify which one was a girl friend, which one was a come-we-stay relationship and which one was a wife; that is the point at which the law chooses to recognise all the other women. We are not going to have that situation anymore. A man who wants to be polygamous will be polygamous in his life time. He will choose a method of marriage that allows him to be polygamous. For those who are Christians, the Christian faith wants us to be monogamous. He will choose to marry under Christian law and be a monogamous husband and a monogamous wife for the period of the marriage. The Christian faith does not even encourage that we have divorce. We had that discussion in the Committee. What we said is that the law does not just speak to Christians. This is a law for all Kenyans, and not just for Christians. For those who are Christians amongst us, that is provided for. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, therefore, as we celebrate the Bill, which is going to the Committee Stage, we are really delighted that this particular Marriage Bill has come early in the life of the Eleventh Parliament, in the Second Session. It will streamline a lot of the issues that we have had with our marriages in this country – a lot of the issues that have caused a lot of questions in our courts – and a lot of matters that we had really not sorted out until now. Even on the question of polygamy, in the earlier laws, only Muslim marriages were allowed to be polygamous. I remember that at one time, the Attorney-General of this country, while at a United Nations meeting, was asked that question. His answer at that time was that polygamy in Kenya was only for Muslim brothers. Those who are of my culture and many other cultures, polygamy in this country is for all brothers. Therefore, all brothers who want to get into polygamy can now actually do so through the law. However, we still emphasise that those who want to get into monogamous marriages, the law remains clear on those matters. So, one can opt to live in a monogamous marriage or a polygamous marriage. This particular Bill seeks to streamline all those matters. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, allow me to also emphasise the fact that this Bill contains a lot of matters borrowed from different cultures. This is what we call homegrown legislation – a law that responds to Kenyan needs. It is a law that looks at Kenyan families. It is a law that looks at our realities. That is the Bill that has been brought to this House. So, this Bill will cover for men as well as for women. In fact, according to the recommendations that the Committee will bring here, it will be so balanced that neither the men nor the women can say that the law favours either gender. Both men and women are covered. As we say in the women rights world, “to men their rights and nothing more; to women their rights and nothing less.” That is what this Bill has done. The rich and the poor; the educated and the traditional; the cultural, the pastoralists; the Christians, the Muslims, the Hindu; the old and the young, persons with disabilities, the modern, and everybody else is covered in this law. All kinds of marriages are covered in this Bill. The amendments that the Committee intend to bring will ensure that most of those issues are covered. 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."
}