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{
    "id": 610465,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/610465/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 76,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Abdi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 398,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Hassan Abdi",
        "slug": "yusuf-hassan-abdi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving this opportunity. I would like to support the Motion and thank Mhe Wangamati for bringing this important part of our history to the attention of this Parliament. I would like to say that there is no higher sacrifice than giving your life for the freedom of your people and your country. Millions of Kenyans have given their lives including “Dini ya Musambwa”. These people must be remembered; they must be honoured and celebrated. I want to put on record the genocidal colonial administration’s destruction of our society. Thousands of communities were destroyed; thousands of communities were maimed and uprooted because they resisted the colonial rule; they had the audacity to stand up against the might of the colonial power. One of the biggest groups in our history of that struggle was the Mau Mau Movement: 150,000 Kenyans were killed in that struggle. A million Kenyans were kept in concentration camps, entire villages and settlements were destroyed in order for them to be under the thumb of the British colonial system. One of the leaders of that anti-colonial struggle was Dedan Kimathi. 18th February, 2015 was the 57th anniversary of his execution by the British. What is sad about it is that no one celebrates; no one honours that important day in our history. No one remembers that great hero who sacrificed his life, so that we could be free today. I am urging the Government to make every effort to ensure that his body is found, and that he is given a decent and honourable burial. If that is not done, I think Kamit Maximum Security Prison, which has incarcerated a large number of freedom fighters, should be declared a national monument; it should be remembered every year as the place where our leader, our freedom fighter and our hero, is buried. We must also remember Mekatilili wa Menza, Koitalel arap Samoei, Lenana and many others mentioned by hon. Members. This is a country that does not remember and honour its heroes. It is also the responsibility of the Government of Kenya to make sure that we historically document the work and contribution of these great leaders, who have made it possible for us to be the Kenya that we are today. Unless we can remember our history, we cannot understand who we are today; we cannot move forward in confidence. That is why I think there is something wrong with this country, in that if we cannot remember the people who have sacrificed for us, then we are not complete. Look at the South African community and the South African country. They have museums in honour of their heroes. They have universities and institutions that have records and history. Why can we not have that for our people? On the issue of compensation from the British, I think the hon. Member should seek more guidance on that, because compensation was paid as a result of a court action. I do not know how competent this House is in trying to force a foreign power to do or not do something. Maybe, we need to do another one for the people of “Dini ya Musambwa” 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."
}