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{
    "id": 612143,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/612143/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 99,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chepkong’a",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1154,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Kiprono Chepkonga",
        "slug": "samuel-kiprono-chepkonga"
    },
    "content": "uprising in the 1950s that had a great impact on the clamour for Independence. The subsequent regimes that followed after Independence, that is 1960s and 1970s were lauded for their commitment towards improving the situation of Kenyan citizens, especially in areas related to access to small land holders, health education and poverty alleviation. However, during that period, Kenya was also a de facto one party State, which restricted the enjoyment of civil and political rights such as democratic rights and activities of opposition politicians and political parties. In the 1980s, the de jure one party state heightened restrictions on political pluralism and free electoral and democratic processes. The Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group (IPPG) of 1997 was as a result of clamour for political opposition for minimum constitutional reforms which included, among other things, creating a level playing field in elections. The IPPG consensus provided for fundamental electoral reforms that in part contributed to the ouster from power of the then ruling party, Kenya African National Union (KANU); during the 2002 general elections. The ouster of KANU – a party which had been in power from 1963 to 2002 – provided an opportunity for deeper democratic governance reforms and a renewed commitment to the promotion, respect, protection and fulfilment of the people’s rights in Kenya. After decades of one-party rule and the attendant human rights abuses, the Government that took power in 2002 showed some commitment in terms of breaking away from the past and creating a necessary enabling environment for enjoyment of human rights by all Kenyans without discrimination. It was after this period that the Government enhanced the process of signing and ratifying relevant international and regional human rights instruments with a view to providing the citizens with the widest possible protection of their rights. If Hon. Wandayi was here, he would recall that, that was the time when Kenya acceded to the Rome Treaty that set up the International Criminal Court (ICC), to which we attended as a party during the last Assembly of State Parties Conference. That was one of the ways of enhancing human rights by ensuring that we created a complementary court to ensure that if the local courts do not provide for remedies in terms of human rights violations, then we have a court of international stature that may deal with such issues. As hon. Members know, during the 10th Parliament, Kenyans decided to refer some of the cases to the ICC, which has created some discomforts in certain quarters."
}