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{
    "id": 497835,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/497835/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 231,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wangari",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13123,
        "legal_name": "Martha Wangari",
        "slug": "martha-wangari"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. The first time I saw this Motion in one of last week’s Order Papers though we were not able to debate it, I was in a meeting with Sen. Wako. The first thing I told him was that it looked to me like the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. That was my first reaction. Secondly, I asked him whether it was a preserve of lawyers only. Thirdly, I also enquired whether out of 13, we only had two women in it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, before I even go to the composition, I know it is a fact and it is in the public domain that the Senate is being fought from every quarter. We have issues with the Governors, we have had problems in my Committee, that is the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee. I know my Chairman has already alluded to some of the issues that we are facing; we have a problem with ex parte orders being given by courts or by the Judiciary. That is in the public domain. But we also must interrogate, as a House, whether we want to do things just for the sake of it or we want to critically look at the matter before we act and make rushed decisions. I do not dispute the floatation of this idea in the kamukunji . It is well in order. However, any time a Motion has been brought to this House, it is up for debate. It is up to Members to express whether they agree with it or not and it is their constitutional right to either support or oppose a Motion. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as we split Committees in this House, we should realize that we already have an operation problem as the Senate in terms of quorum of Committees. There is no one committee you will walk in today and find more than four Members. We are doing only bare minimum in most committees because most Members are in two or more Committees. Some are in three. We already have even an ad hoc Committee on Harambee. We have four of them. Despite this being a political tool like we term it, in terms of output, the expectations of the big mandate and of the very heavy load being put on this Committee in terms of expectations to the Senate and guiding the public, I feel that, given our constrained numbers, we cannot have another properly, an ad hoc committee. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when I look at this composition, I think this work can very well be done by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. I know we want to make a political statement. The leadership of this House, and I know recently we have had a retreat for the leadership, where we interrogated some of these issues. 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."
}