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    "id": 644392,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/644392/?format=api",
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    "content": "out there. It was a great opportunity for us to stand as MPs and recognise those gallant soldiers who are fighting on our behalf within and outside our borders. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I also think that like Sen. Karaba said, although he never used this as an example, one of the things that will be remembered for many years from the Presidential Address was the enunciation of a philosophy that the President called “the nationalist covenant”. I thought that was very important. Even in future studies about this country in universities and colleges, what President Uhuru called the nationalist covenant is going to be part and parcel of what will be studied in terms of achieving that covenant. The President called it a sacred covenant for which all of us have a responsibility. As a people, we are bound together and united by this covenant which is described as our lowest common denominator. He showered a lot of praises on our founding fathers. I was gratified when the President said that one of the founding fathers, Sen. G.G. Kariuki, sits in this Senate. Sometimes we sit here with Sen. G. G. Kariuki and we take it for granted. He is one of the first MPs in this country. What a great hunour for you and me, Sen. Aaron Cheruiyot, and many of us who are young, to share a platform with Sen. G. G. Kariuki! It is a great honour and something that we must always appreciate; that those men and women had a dream and a vision for this country. Sometimes we forget this vision, covenant or dream that they had for this country. It takes such speeches like that of the President to remind us that we need to go back to our values and covenant that, even those who are in the Opposition are part and parcel of this country. I have said this before. Sometimes I see Kenyans speaking on social media or in foreign countries completely oblivious of the fact that they have a nation called Kenya and that they are supposed to protect the integrity of our country. You can criticize those who are in office, the Government of the day and those who are elected. However, you must not forget that you have a country called Kenya. I see some Kenyans so gratified and excited about some parody accounts that run on social media that, ooh President Mugabe or President Magufuli said this about Kenya. Of course, in the first place, they are untrue. It is a creation of some people on the social media. However, you see some Kenyans say: “Oh, yes. We are. We are this kind of people. We are useless, the most corrupt and stupid.” We are not. There is a preacher who once said that you are what you think you are. I refuse to be part and parcel of the generalization that we are people who have no vision, dream, covenant or a desire to have a country that is united. I will not be defined by those who sit idle at their computer stations, typing things that are not true about this country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we must go back to what puts us together as a country. We must always remember that those who are in office can and must be criticized but within the confines of protection of your nation. That is why when the media reports about the country on matters of security and the economy, they must exercise the restraint that they have a nation called Kenya where their business of journalism is thriving. They must protect the foundation of that. That is why if you are a journalist, you must first think about the fact that if you lump a general criticism on your country, you are not only just harming the Government The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}