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{
    "id": 660447,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/660447/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 477,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Gichigi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1909,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Kamunye Gichigi",
        "slug": "samuel-kamunye-gichigi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker, for giving me a chance to comment on this Bill. At the outset, I am a member of the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare that considered the original Bill before it was passed in this House. As those who have spoken before me have indicated, at no time did our Committee or this House remove any of the amendments that had been proposed in this Bill. They were not there from the beginning. The Bill that we received from the Ministry and the Attorney-General did not contain them. As I was reading today’s Daily Nation, it indicated that Parliament mutilated the Bill that had been brought here from WADA. That is not true. I will urge the members of the Fourth Estate to try to be accurate. A little research and investigation would have revealed that the National Assembly is not at fault. In fact, we ought to be commended for the speed at which we passed the Bill and that we have resumed despite our busy schedules in the constituencies to pass this Bill. I am also asking our pressmen not to be pessimists. Reading what they had published the other day, one would have thought that Kenya has been banned. Whereas WADA had just indicated that there are certain provisions that ought to be amended, everybody was panicking in this county. Having said that, it is important for Kenyans, especially those who are involved in sporting activities, to take care of themselves. They should not wait for a law to capture and punish them whereas the substances they are using are very harmful to their bodies. I wish to remind all those who think they are going to use those substances that Kenya has lost more than 10 athletes through death in the last one year because of using drugs. Let me remind them that this law is not being passed to help the world or other people. It is to ensure that not only are sportsmen clean, but to also stop them from harming themselves. Very young boys and girls are being introduced to those drugs and in about one, two or three years, they are completely exhausted. They become zombies, their organs fail and finally they die. The young men whom we see flexing their huge muscles in the streets are using those drugs and in a few months, they are no longer able to do anything useful. I urge this House to pass these provisions as suggested by WADA. But the international organization should also treat Kenya fairly. Why should they keep on threatening and focusing on Kenya as if we are the only country that does not have these regulations? There are close to 200 states that participate in those competitions. I am told it is only about 10 of them that have passed this anti-doping law and yet, everybody is focusing on Kenya because of our prowess in that sport. They should also talk to the other countries so that they can pass the law. We do not want other counties to be involved in doping and appear to beat Kenya after we enforce this particular law. Thank you, Hon. Speaker, I support the Bill and urge my colleagues to do likewise. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}