Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 572768,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/572768/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 336,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orengo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 129,
        "legal_name": "Aggrey James Orengo",
        "slug": "james-orengo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I thank Sen. Murkomen for moving this Motion and you for giving me this opportunity to contribute. In order to debate this Motion as a matter of urgent national importance, I think, we should look specifically at what President Obama said. He was appealing to all of us that there are shared values that should bring us together as a nation. That for as long as we keep talking about “them” and “us” and Opposition and Government in circumstances where we need to bring about lasting change to our country, then we are doomed forever. Over the years, President Obama has been consistently saying and quoting Abraham Lincoln – I think that he is one of his mentors – that you cannot have an America which is half slave and half free. He also told us that we cannot have a Kenya where some people are enjoying the fruits of progress and development while others are not and still hope to have one country. He gave an example that you cannot have a situation where one part of the country has children who have more likelihood of living beyond a certain age compared to other areas. This is what we should focus on. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in Kenya, we are beginning to lose the moments that can make us change our country. When you hear speeches of many people these days, Wangari Maathai is often quoted even by leaders. However, when she was alive, she could not even have been made a Minister when she was in this Parliament. In fact, it was shameful that a Kenyan of that calibre could not be appointed a Cabinet Secretary (CS). When she was given the Nobel Peace Prize, the whole nation was surprised at how it came about. Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a great man in literature, but people do not know what he has contributed, except when we want to remind ourselves that we have a son like him. I am pleading with us to live by what President Obama said. Let us judge each other – like Martin Luther King said – not by the colour of our skin or our second names, but by the content of our character. That is the message that he sent us, as a nation, which is coming together. 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."
}