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{
    "id": 600396,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/600396/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 128,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Muzee",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2225,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kazungu Muzee",
        "slug": "daniel-kazungu-muzee"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute. My colleague, the Member for Kiharu was trying to be the devil’s advocate. In a way, he gave us his view. I stand here to support this Bill because it is timely and very important. I want to quote a statement which was made recently by renown Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong’o, when he last visited Nairobi. He said: “If you embrace culture and your local language, you empower yourself. If you ape other people’s culture, you become a slave.” To me that was a very powerful statement. Although my children go to western-type schools, I vowed that every evening I must speak my local language to them. It is important for them to know where they came from. Culture, as we have been told here, is the way of life. It defines a community. It looks at where the community is from, where it is and its future. It can manifest in different ways, including the way we look at religion and beliefs. This Bill is important for us. It is good that the Leader of the Majority Party brought this Bill and made it a priority today. Over time, I have been very sad, disappointed and angry when I see politicians coming to my community at the Coast and are taken by quacks who call themselves elders. I am from the Mijikenda community and a very proud Giriama. They take people who do not deserve to be in the sacred areas called “the Kayas” that we revered very much. That makes me really sad. For the first time, we have seen a law here that says that we will be registering the correct groupings which will now be the legitimate owners of our culture and heritage so that when something happens within our culture, it is acceptable. It will ensure that it does not offend me, my community or yours as well. The fact that we will be having proper registration of groups is a big plus. I support this Bill for that. There is also the issue of copyright. Sometimes you look at traditional composers, musicians and oral experts, they have a lot of knowledge in culture and how the community has evolved. A lot of their work gets used so many times during cultural events and formal events. However, over time they end up being poor. I have examples in my community. We had Mr. Bin Hare, Mr. Nyerere Konde, Mr. Bin Mama and Mr. Konjo Kolio. I am sure other communities The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}