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{
    "id": 493335,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/493335/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 36,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Abdalla",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 382,
        "legal_name": "Amina Ali Abdalla",
        "slug": "amina-abdalla"
    },
    "content": "small tribes, who could afford to talk about tribalism because every other person was only talking about tribalism when it was somebody else practising it, and that when they get opportunity, they do the same. I had explained to him that leading Opposition figure then had just been to Cornell a month before; he only spoke English when he was at the podium. When he was socializing, he socialized in his mother tongue. I, as a minority, did feel the effect of tribalism. Tribalism should be felt, whether practised by those in power or by all of us. The second issue was on corruption. He said, “You know, the Government is very corrupt!” I said that I was not going to defend that, but we must accept that a lot of times in Kenya corruption is more of lack of opportunity. I told him that should those people in the Opposition get into power they would practise as much corruption as those in power now. Sure enough, you saw it from 2003 when I was in this House. In 2007, leading Members of the second liberation practised corruption. The professor did challenge me then, “If you are implying that corruption is genetic to every Kenyan, it is for you as the young person to give us solutions to corruption and tribalism.” I must today, pay tribute to Prof. Mazrui because when the opportunity to make legislation that would deal with corruption and cohesion in this country came up, I did play my part. As a legislator, I must say that we cannot legislate cohesion; we cannot kill corruption through legislation. We must then give to the next generation because a lot of those who were here have already reached the same conclusion with me that probably as Kenyans, corruption is genetic and we need to look for another opportunity to address it. As a tribute to Prof. Ali Mazrui, I hope that this House will make legislation and will ensure that in our oversight role, we are able to guide this country so that we can kill this cancer of corruption and tribalism. Tribalism should not only be criticized when others are in power, but we also criticize it when we practise it in our small cocoons wherever we are. With those few remarks, I pray that this Government gives a befitting memorial to Prof. Mazrui as a hero in the academia within this country. With those few remarks I beg to support."
}