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{
    "id": 644411,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/644411/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 227,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there comes a time where we, as leaders, also need to remember that the President and the Presidency are two different and distinct institutions. You may not like the President of the day, but the Presidency is a constitutional office that we all ought to respect as citizens of this country. The person who occupies that seat is not immortal. He is here today and will be gone tomorrow. However, let us preserve and respect that office. You may not like the current person serving in that office today or you may not draw some inspiration from him, but he is in that office at the moment. We need to get to a point where we realize that institutions and individuals are two separate entities. We, as leaders, must show some respect to the institution of the Presidency. I wish to highlight three or four instances where I got really motivated and excited by the Address of the President. Indeed, this was a State of the Nation Address where the President spoke his mind and shared with us what he feels about values he holds so dearly about this nation. One of the issues he alluded to in his Address was corruption. This has ably been noted by Sen. (Dr.) G.G. Kariuki when he spoke a few minutes ago. I must also join Sen. Murkomen in saying it is a great honour to serve with him in this House because as young leaders, there are a lot of things we learn from his generation. We are proud of him as one of the founding fathers of the nation. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the President addressed himself to the issue of corruption and noted that it is a challenge that we have had for a long time. We are getting to a point where we, as a nation, are branding every person as corrupt. The minute you are named in connection with corrupt deals, people judge you as a corrupt individual. Last year when the President addressed Parliament, it was gratifying to hear him asking some of his Cabinet Ministers who were mentioned in graft to step aside to allow investigation to take place. Therefore, as much as the Opposition criticized him and asked why people are not in jail, I think we are heading in the right direction. It is not a good practice just to condemn somebody as corrupt simply because social media platforms have alleged that he is corrupt. We know somebody can post a message and say Sen. Cheruiyot is corrupt and without having been taken through the due process of law, I am condemned. The President showed genuine concern about his fight on corruption matters. He elaborated steps he has taken to fight graft in this country. These are not fictional tales. These are things that have happened. We have seen a third of the Cabinet resign as well as 150 heads and boards of directors of parastatals on simple allegations that have been made about them. They were asked to clear their names in courts. I do not know what more the people want the President to do yet we are not in the dictatorship era where he can just send people to jail. To me, he has tried in the war against corruption. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, he also said a judge who takes bribe to rule in favour of a certain individual is a Kenyan like you and I. This is a Kenyan who has been given the mandate by the President to serve the nation, but allows himself to be corrupted by some individuals. How then can we blame the leaders of the day? When do we get to a point where we, as Kenyans, address ourselves to these issues? It is time for us to realize corruption affects us, as individuals, our families and nation. We need to behave responsibly. 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"
}