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"speaker_name": "Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Motion. From the outset, I would like to say that it is only a doctor of medicine that would think of something like this. I thank Sen. (Dr.) Machage for this Motion. At this instance, I want to disclose that my family and in particular my cousin, suffered from dementia for a long time. These people are treated as outcasts. Where I come from, when somebody suffers from dementia or some elements of lunacy, someone would say that there has been a spell cast on him. However, the doctors will tell you that in the definition of dementia, it is a gradual death of brain cells which causes and leads to impairment of memory, reasoning, planning, and behavior; this includes Alzheimer and many other things. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Mathare Hospital has remained the same for eternity. The last time that there was anything about the hospital is when our own boxer, Ms. Congestina Achieng was taken there. There was an outcry in the whole Republic. People contributed money and went to visit her. They were alarmed that somebody could suffer from dementia. This is just one case of a person we know very well. If statistics had been taken, you would find that maybe out of every 10 families, there is somebody who suffers from dementia. The ones who are lucky manage to find their way into a market to borrow some food and walk around. In some communities, particularly in my work at Rotary Club, you will find that these people are locked up in dog kennels or in chains like I saw in a place called Ndia, in Kirinyaga. The Government, under the public sector, is only allocating one percent of the total public health budget to mental health. This financial year, the total allocation of the national Budget is Kshs51 billion. Therefore, they are just receiving one per cent. There is a category of people called dementia. These are persons who have suffered from loss of brain cells. If you go to other countries, they take care of the old people. There is a home called Huruma Home somewhere in Runda. It takes care of the old people. We do not have a deliberate attempt, other than the one the Senator has mentioned by AMREF to set up homes to take care of people who suffer from dementia. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the right to life in this Constitution, includes the right for a person with dementia or diminished mental capabilities to live with human dignity. That includes proper dressing, proper medication, care and attention. We must stop this issue of complaining like they do in some communities, including mine, when we see a person running around without clothes and imagine that person has been bewitched. That is not the case. The only way we can do so, is by removing these practices that are with us and have been with us since our forefathers; is to go the way that Sen. (Dr.) Machage has proposed. If we do not want to discriminate anybody, why are we discriminating people suffering from dementia or reduced mental capacity? 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."
}