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{
    "id": 633005,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/633005/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 443,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. ole Kenta",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 420,
        "legal_name": "Richard Moitalel ole Kenta",
        "slug": "richard-moitalel-ole-kenta"
    },
    "content": "This Bill seeks to amend laws that are already there. It is not a constitutional Bill. The argument that I heard the other day is that those laws were rushed through Parliament and so, they have errors. I believe this is something that should be looked at before being brought to this House. These provisions are unconstitutional and they are going to negate the progress this country has made. When you say you cannot register sub-leases, it is very dangerous because somebody can benefit from it. It should be for the benefit of the county governments. In fact, leases, especially on public land, should be a preserve of NLC. To give the CS those powers undermines the roles that have been given to NLC by the Constitution. The other issue is on the National Land Commission Act, 2012. There is the issue of historical land injustices. As a person from a community that has lost a lot of land through manipulation--- I believe in 1904 and 1911, there was no Maasai who would have understood the meaning of a formal written agreement on land or any agreement for that matter. I believe nobody in Kenya, especially the indigenous people, had the ability to understand an agreement. So, I believe when you talk about historical injustices, you are trying to bring it in one paragraph or clause of a Bill. I believe that it should have been a stand-alone Bill. Talking about incorporating it in the National Land Commission (NLC) is not fair to the people who have lost land. In fact, it even removes the issue of present land injustices. There are present and ongoing land injustices. Removing them is not good. It is circumventing the protection given to Kenyans by the supreme law. We should have it intact. From research, I understand that there was a Bill that was taken to the Cabinet for approval but it, somehow, got lost along the way. We should look at this Bill critically even though I personally oppose it. We should enact laws for the benefit of Kenyans. There is even the issue of removing a very integral part of the National Land Commission Act. The NLC is supposed to take care of public land not only for the current generation, but also for future generations. They have delayed that provision, effectively undermining the benefits that we are supposed to enjoy. So, whether there are changes or not, this Bill has been brought here for purposes of undermining land ownership, especially for marginalised communities. I have justifiable grounds for opposing this Bill. I urge my colleagues to critically look at it during the Committee of the whole House to ensure that we do not negate the benefits given to us by the Community Land Bill. If we are not careful, this Bill will negate everything given to us by the Community Land Bill. With those remarks, I oppose."
}