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{
    "id": 646925,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/646925/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 194,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "April 20, 2016 SENATE DEBATES 27 Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, doping is not rampant in Kenya. We are legislating this for purposes of complying with the international standards. May I tell the Senate Majority Leader that his arguments about treaties and especially Article 2 (5) and (6) of the Constitution are applicable. We are a world community and when we talk of the International Criminal Court (ICC), we should remember what we are doing today. It is the same thing because we are complying with the international standards. When we talk of the ICC treaties the Senate Majority Leader should treat it the same way we are treating this Bill. We should deal with persons who are doing doping the same way we deal with criminals. I am not satisfied about the agency. I do not know how you define the agency in terms of who is supposed to be in it because I have not seen that. I am not sure whether it will be left to the discretion of somebody as to who will sit in the agency. This is because Clause 6 gives the agency immense powers and directions. It is not possible because you are creating something akin to a police organisation and also an investigative organisation. The composition of the agency is not very clear because it has been left ambiguous. Therefore, I would like the Senate Majority Leader to check that, so that it is not left to the people we know who will play around with the agency because of what we know and what Sen. Wetangula was referring to. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I entirely agree with the proposal that we should not allow them to receive gifts because we know what will happen when they start receiving gifts from organisations. Therefore, the part on gifts also needs to be looked at. In terms of the protection that we need to give to this agency, I thought Parliament will be given a role. Since it has not been given a role, there is no way of insulating the Board from politics. So, it will be left to the whims of anybody. The Cabinet Sectary for Sports, Culture and the Arts could wake up and fire the chairman, change the agency or do what he feels like. So, the insulation of such an organisation that has international status is critical in terms of anchoring it firmly in the law and ensuring that the removal of the person sitting in the Board such as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Board are insulated or vetted by Parliament. One of the two would ideally satisfy my fears that a new Government could come and change people and do the usual things that we do in this country that we are famous for doing. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, other than the suggested list of banned substances, the persons who trade in them or people who sell the drugs, the Bill itself complies entirely with the Constitution in terms of audit, reporting, what they should do and activities of the Board. I pray that the board and this Bill will put Kenya back into the spotlight where we want it to be. We regret those instances where some of our athletes have been found to have been trading in the banned substances. We encourage the youth and people from all counties to become athletes and join sports because we realise the importance of sports. I agree with Sen. (Prof.) Anyang'- Nyong'o; it is a joke and an abuse to give somebody who has put us on a map USD1,000. If the gentlemen who won the Rugby Sevens Series were in the Middle East, they would be instant billionaires because rugby profession and sports is an industry. People are making money by becoming professions. Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki, how do we ensure that our 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"
}