Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 476198,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/476198/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 258,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, first and foremost, I was not aware that there has been a criminal attack in Likoni while we were sitting here. For that reason, I send my condolences to those families that have been affected. Having said that, despite increasing crime which every Kenya is concerned about irrespective of our political affiliations, despite other issues that we are struggling with, despite the divisive nature of our interactions, at the moment, especially along ethnic lines and so on, I am one person who believes that what happened in this country in 2008/2007 is nothing compared to anything else we have seen either before or after 2008. It is in this context that I sought to say that at least after 2008, generally, the country has been peaceful. I did not intend to mislead the Senate or the country that there is no crime in our country. We condemn crime and we hope that everything that needs to be done must be done in the shortest time possible to make our country safe and reduce these attacks. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the address by the President of the Senate of Rwanda also touched on a few things, especially around the difficult relationship that Rwanda has had around ethnicity and how they are confronting that. This also relates to our own history and experience, as a country. We have also had difficult relationships. We can also learn from countries like Rwanda and how they have been able to fairly bring people together. Even if there are still difficulties in that country, at least, you will find businesses are running, people are relating and having social interactions in a country where just 20 years ago there was massive slaughter of the people of Rwanda, not by foreigners, but by fellow citizens. This tells us, as a country, that in spite of what we have done and in spite of the challenges we have experienced, it is still possible to put our country together and to recover lost ground, mend the broken relationship, knit ourselves back again and live as people who belong to one nation and who share a common destiny. Let me also say that Kenya and Rwanda are members of the International Great Lakes Conference. This is an organization that brings together other countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other countries far down south as far as Angola. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, unlike the East African Community which has really moved very fast and has some results to show, this grouping of countries whose mandate deals with issues of peace and security in East Africa and the Great Lakes Region has not done much. It is not visible. I really hope that through these interactions, our two countries and the other partners, neighbours and members of this International Great Lakes Region can speed up the harmonization and standardization of security benchmarks in the region so that trade becomes easier. 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."
}