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{
    "id": 530926,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/530926/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Saney",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2988,
        "legal_name": "Ibrahim Abdi Saney",
        "slug": "ibrahim-abdi-saney"
    },
    "content": "The intent of this Motion is clear and is in consonance with our laws, especially the Constitution. More so, the object of this Motion is to improve the level of knowledge of the Kenyan laws. No doubt, the translation of our laws into Kiswahili will help improve the level of knowledge of our laws. However, we have to do a little bit better. We have to go beyond that to make sure that there is much beyond the translation that should enhance the knowledge of the Kenyan citizens in regard to their laws. I think that has to do with civic education so that people get these laws in many other vernacular languages. It is not only about translating our laws into Kiswahili. We must be cognizant of the fact that many of the pastoral communities are illiterate. We have over 80 per cent illiteracy rate there. Therefore, translating our laws into Kiswahili may not achieve much. There is the perception that translating our laws into Kiswahili may improve knowledge of our laws, but the truth is that Kiswahili is much harder than English itself and that can be evidence from the fact that in terms of performance, our children perform better in English than in Kiswahili. So, it is never automatic that the translation of our laws into Kiswahili will as such enhance knowledge of our own laws. Indeed the translation of our documents into Kiswahili will at least enhance our knowledge of the laws, but one other issue, as has been alluded to by my colleague, is the fact that what is being spoken is not really an indicator of our readability of Kiswahili as a language. What is spoken is not actually real Kiswahili. Once translated, it may not assist. We may not be better than we are doing in English. I support, but it may not help our understanding in a bigger way. With those few remarks, I support."
}