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{
    "id": 485752,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/485752/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 330,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Odhiambo-Mabona",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 376,
        "legal_name": "Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo Mabona",
        "slug": "millie-odhiambo-mabona"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, you can see that two of my minutes have already been chewed up. I have the authority to speak. Otherwise, they would have protested. The reason why I wanted to say this is that on the face of it, it looks like it is a good Bill. But under those conventions and under the Constitution of Kenya, the best interest of the child is primary. It does not matter whether the father or the mother have agreed. I will give you an example. My good friend and uncle, hon. Kaluma, has a case in court. I do not mean to disparage him because he is very good. He is good because he has come forward and he wants to better the situation because when he went to court, he realised the situation was not balanced. Hon. Kaluma is a Member of Parliament. I do not know the background of the lady who has taken him to court. Assuming that she is a lady with no means, and you say that they provide equally, what would that mean – that if hon. Kaluma gives Kshs400, a woman with no means also gives Kshs400? So, I know that the intention of hon. Kaluma, who is my uncle, is very good. However, the way this Bill is put does not give effect to what hon. Kaluma intends to do. I have actually talked to hon. Kaluma and told him that I will only support if we include a proviso to say that the best interests of the child shall prevail at all times. It is not about the interests of a woman who, out of some excitements, decides to have a child with a man. It is not out of the goodwill of another man who wants to have a child with another woman. I am one of the persons who pushed for the particular Article of the Constitution. We took up the matter up to the Court of Appeal. We were also taking it to the African Court in a case of M.R. versus the Attorney-General of Kenya and Millie Odhiambo versus the Attorney-General of Kenya. We wanted to make sure that we put the child ahead of men and women. With those remarks, I beg to support with amendments."
}