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{
    "id": 600339,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/600339/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 71,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. H. K. Njuguna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1508,
        "legal_name": "Humphrey Kimani Njuguna",
        "slug": "humphrey-kimani-njuguna"
    },
    "content": "would have been our whisky today. But because we did not have this law, it is viewed as an illicit brew and it is not developed because we lack a legal framework to assist in developing such practices. Take for instance the traditional medicine. I have come across two cases of traditional medicine that have left me very surprised and feeling like, perhaps, we have lost a whole branch of science in terms of medicine. In the year 2000, when AIDS was a scary disease in this country, I heard of somebody who had a problem and the doctors gave up. We got in touch with a traditional medicine practitioner and the patient is still alive today. The problem is that because it is not protected, those practitioners will not release this knowledge. Perhaps, this is knowledge that was left behind by their forefathers or great-grandfathers. There is need to have a legal framework so that, that knowledge can be upgraded. We talked about the Njuri Ncheke, the Kikuyu and the Luhya elders. They have a role to play in our society and we need to protect them. We need to protect this knowledge, which is important. Other countries like India and China have developed their traditional medicines. I am aware there is a Traditional Medicine Bill before this House and I applaud the effort of coming up with the Bill, so that our communities can benefit from their traditional knowledge and expressions. The Maasais should benefit from their expressions. People travel all the way to come and see how they dance. The benefit is in addressing the “we” since this is community knowledge. The benefit is in addressing the community owned knowledge as opposed to the ‘I’ knowledge. With those few remarks, I support and applaud this Bill and initiative."
}