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{
    "id": 483944,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/483944/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 45,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okong’o",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 948,
        "legal_name": "Kennedy Mong'are Okong'o",
        "slug": "kennedy-mongare-okongo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity to second this Motion of impeachment. This is one of the toughest challenges when you find yourself in a Committee to fire or retain a person in employment, but this is where we have men and women of knowledge and wisdom; men who have taken oath of office to defend the Constitution of Kenya. In the previous impeachments in this House, both parties have taken a bipartisan approach. In Wambora I, the House unanimously stood to impeach him. In Wambora II, the House took a partisan approach to impeach Wambora. In the Chepkwony proceedings, the Committee report was unanimously adopted not to impeach him. This is a vote which might bring discord when men and women stand by the principles, experiences and facts before them. In this impeachment of the Deputy Governor of Machakos, we had 24 charges. The Committee sat down to delve into these issues. We spent many hours and found out that many of the charges brought before us were frivolous and fictitious. This charge on which the Deputy Governor of Machakos is supposed to be impeached for is false considering what the Chairman has tabled here. There were questions of threshold where some Members were arguing about past cases which have been taken to court on hate speech and people have been left to go scot free. Those might not hold water, because we know that the Directorate for Public Prosecution (DPP) in this country is understaffed and, therefore it cannot be a reason to say that if people have not been charged and taken to jail on accusations of hate speech, it is reason not to impeach the Governor. Mr. Speaker, Sir, first, in the said charge, the Deputy Governor of Machakos uttered the same words not once, not twice or thrice. In those meetings where he uttered those words, he received thunderous applause from the crowds. As a leader who has taken the oath of office, it is wrong to segregate people in a county. We must set standards for public leadership. We are in a new dispensation where we have a new Constitution which requires that we stand firm while performing our duties regardless of which party we belong to. With those reasons, we must set grounds for political impropriety. Some of us have taken the oath of office, which oath of office we have never revisited to read and understand what it stands for and what it states. When I took the oath of office almost 16 months, I was clear in my mind that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the people of the Republic of Kenya. I will obey, respect, uphold, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Kenya and I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge the duties of a Member of Parliament. 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."
}