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{
    "id": 645302,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/645302/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 61,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 3036,
        "legal_name": "Timothy Wanyonyi Wetangula",
        "slug": "timothy-wanyonyi-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I also want to contribute to this Speech on the State of the Nation Address. The Constitution in Article 132(1)(c) states that:- “(1) The President shall— (c) once every year— (i) report, in an address to the nation, on all the measures taken and the progress achieved in the realisation of the national values, referred to in Article 10; (ii) publish in the Gazette the details of the measures and progress under sub-paragraph (i); and (iii) submit a report for debate to the National Assembly on the progress made in fulfilling the international obligations of the Republic.” The President’s Speech was very impressive, but in content, he was just trying to highlight the achievements of the Jubilee Government instead of giving the State of the Union Address to the nation. It is imperative that in circumstances where the President seeks to address the nation and Parliament he should, and must account for the steps taken in achieving the national values set out in Article 10. One area that I was looking forward to and expecting the President to address was the issue of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in Somali. Our soldiers in Somali are going through a very difficult spell. When we went to Somalia, we did not intend to stay there this long. The Government could have provided an exit strategy. Given that now the KDF is attached to AMISOM, a group that is very poorly funded, the attacks are particularly targeting at our Kenyan soldiers yet AMISOM is a group of soldiers from different countries. This must inform us that we must find a way of getting our soldiers back home. If we still want to stay in Somalia, we should create a buffer zone for ourselves and protect our borders, so that infiltration of terrorists into our country can stop. In Paragraphs 20, 22, and 23, the President addressed the issue of freedom of speech that Kenyans enjoy. From a nutshell, it is like the President was saying that these freedoms are given through Government policies or the freedom of speech has been given by the Jubilee Government. Freedom of speech is enshrined in the Constitution and the President was trying to curtail it by saying that the Opposition and the civil society can criticise the Government, but they should not abuse the freedom they are enjoying. This is a free society. We can criticise and there is no obligation for us to provide alternatives. Ours is to put the Government on notice that they must work, provide and deliver on the promises they made during the elections. It is not for us as the Opposition to provide answers in what the Government is supposed to do. If I were the President, I would fire the people who wrote the Speech because they misled him. They are not providing him with the necessary information on things that he is supposed to address to the nation. If you listen to the United States of America (USA) President addressing the nation, he addresses issues to do with foreign relations."
}