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{
    "id": 644322,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/644322/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 138,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, corruption should not and must never be glorified. Corruption must be called by its true name and dealt with at the earliest possible time. The Senate has that very important role. The moment we stop assuming the importance of Article 96 of our Constitution, then we might just realise the power that we hold in holding people to account for every cent that comes out of the sweat of our people, going into people’s pockets. For how long will governors line their nests with people’s money? How long will they be allowed to do offshore investments? Offshore means investing in the next county, where you expect nobody will trace the money to that county? When will we start lifestyle audits so that we understand how a governor who did not even have one car before elections now drives in a fleet of cars and has a helicopter? They are controlling everybody, including county assemblies. When will justice done in this country? When is a Kenyan going to believe that devolution is a matter of fact and that it will benefit the people? These are issues that are contained in the Presidential Address that we, as the Senate, must be bipartisan about. I am one person who believes that corruption, being a crime against the economic growth of a country, should be a capital offence. I have said it before. Why are we shy to deal with it? What is the difference between somebody who steals using a firearm in what is called armed robbery under the Criminal Procedure Act of our Penal Code and a robber who robs from the county, impoverishes people, makes them lose hope and faith in themselves and the country and that person is given a pat on the back and told: “That it is okay, you can go away because you can bribe your way through.” What culture are we building? When is the national covenant going to be fulfilled? When will that lady popularly called Wanjiku believe that there is hope in the future of this country? Those are the questions that I gleaned from the Presidential Address and I saw frustration. Even in the Presidential Address, I saw a President who is determined to end corruption. However, it is fighting back so hard that even the coffee farmer in Murang’a, Kakamega or Bungoma counties is not getting their rightful returns because of the cartels and a very long value chain. The reason for the long value chain is just so that a very select few people can make money for themselves and their families. When somebody is arrested for stealing public money– this is the shame of our nation today – you find people coalescing around him or her because we also have women thieves - you find them saying that it is politics and that it is our people, tribe and clan who are being finished yet. However, when this person went to steal, he did not ask for his clan’s or tribemen’s consent. They went to steal to enrich themselves personally. I support the Presidential Address and I hope that it will be---"
}