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{
    "id": 470024,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/470024/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 99,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was in Ugenya on Saturday attending a funeral service. In the middle of it, somebody stood up and announced to the gathering that Mutula had passed on. Everybody in that funeral forgot about the pain and anguish that people were undergoing in respect to the person who we were burying. He was quite a prominent teacher, but people started wailing at a corner of Ugenya. For all intents and purposes, for anybody who has not been in that part of the world, this shows the kind of influence that this great Kenyan has had on the people of Kenya as a whole, and in particular places where he has worked. One of the things I want to say is that we have really lost one of the sterling heroes of the second republic. I am mindful of what my sister has just said not to emotionalize, but every time we have elections and after elections, we lose prominent leaders in this country. I remember the time when we lost George Kapten who died in almost similar circumstances. He had also vomited. Up to today, nobody can say that we have found really truly the cause of death in so far as the passing away of this other great lawyer from western Kenya. So, in this death of our colleague Mutula Kilonzo, I hope that everything will be done to investigate and make a determination of what occurred. Secondly, I hope all Kenyans can have the type of positive and fighting spirit that Mutula Kilonzo had. When Mutula was appointed a Cabinet Minister, he was put in a Ministry that nobody had ever had of; the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development. People thought, really, in that Ministry, what do you do? During his tenure there, I can tell you that you heard more of the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development than any other Ministry in Government in terms of what he was doing. He was then moved to the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs and equally did a wonderful job. The record shows quite clearly that on the issue of constitutional reforms, he had no fence and no enemies. He had a clear focus in his mind as to what was good for this country. He did his work in good spirit and with determination. When he was then taken to the Ministry of Education, people thought that he had been sacked or demoted. Again, he went there with a fighting and positive spirit. All over this country if you ask teachers about his performance, he did well. I agree with Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale that within the teaching community, he had a very good and positive record. For this reason, I am appealing to those who get into position where you appoint others or work with others not to sack anybody because he has done a good job. To that extend I agree with Sen. Muthama. Not on the issues that he mentioned here, but on the issue that he was doing a good job. He was taking this country without caring which side of the political divide the Constitution was going to turn out to be. He was looking for what was good for Kenya in the areas of reform. For that, he was sacked. We can go through a history for the last 50 years and find out that there are so many Kenyans who met the fate of Mutula Kilonzo. I want to tell you that these things actually cause pain and anguish. Mutula may have been a very strong man, but when I met him on Thursday, I talked to him when he was sitting there. I asked him: “Mutula, why have you not spoken? He was one of the people who wanted his views known on an important Motion like that one. He was kind of tired and distraught. He said: “Is there anything really to talk about?” Sometimes when people get punished for doing the right thing, you have to give it a second thought and 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."
}