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{
    "id": 499691,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/499691/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 239,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The matter to which this Motion speaks has been with us for a while. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Senate of the Republic of Kenya; the side of the Majority and the side of the Minority without exception. Why do I say so? This is because the Senate could have opted to take very drastic measures very many months ago. In particular, the Opposition had a greater incentive to run away with these matters and become more dramatic. However, what has impressed me as a Member of this House – I say this with pride – is that on the issue of Article 110(3) which has been abused, defiled and subjected to great abuse, is that Senators of this country have remained sober. We have been raising issues but within the bounds of civility and sobriety. I hope that my colleagues from the Opposition and from the Government Side will accept my complements as the Senate Majority Leader on how we have collectively handled this matter. We had all the reasons to be angry, to throw tantrums and to do all things that would have made the public wonder whether these are the men and women that they entrusted with the positions of Senators in this country. Therefore, I am grateful. Unfortunately, our patience, sobriety, understanding and maturity has not been matched by similar conducts from those to whom this Motion seeks to address. The patience of the Senators of Kenya has been misinterpreted to mean that we are weak. The humility and sobriety of the Senators of this country has been misunderstood to mean that we are lesser politicians than the rest of the politicians that have been elected in this country. Mr. Speaker, Sir, humility is not cowardice; the fact that somebody is patient does not mean that they have no options. As much as I applaud my colleagues for being patient all these months, I hope that it is in order for me to say that I think we have reached an appropriate point to declare to everyone in this country; every institution, every official, every office and even to our voters, that we have run out of patience. Why do I say so? Unless we run out of patience now and today, the most important dream of the people of Kenya; the dream of realizing a devolved system that removed power, prestige and the concentration of resources in one place and scatters those privileges, powers and resources to the countryside of Kenya, that dream of a devolved system that works to correct the harsh and primitive inequalities that this country has faced since Independence, unless we speak now, that dream will be stolen, aborted, hijacked and defiled by a few selfish, inward looking, myopic and narrow minded people. Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the last 18 months, I have heard all manner of parochial, narrow explanations as to why this Senate cannot be involved the way it is supposed to be involved in matters that relate to our mandate. I have heard excuses and all manner of bragging in town of people and institutions that think that they are superior to other institutions, and today, we want to give them lesson 101 on constitutional law; Constitutional Law 101 or Constitutional Law Simplified. There were those books that were very useful in our student days and I know that my brother, the Senate Minority Leader, remembers these things because he has a very sharp and photographic memory. 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."
}