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{
    "id": 661067,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/661067/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 308,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "June 2, 2016 SENATE DEBATES 38 Sen. (Dr.) Zani",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "I stand to support this Bill because it is important and critical. It refocuses on something that we tend to forget quickly. We forget about our cultures and take them for granted. We have a young generation of Kenyans that is very ignorant about their culture. Some of them are even ignorant about their languages, yet you will hear them on television saying that they are from the Luhya, Giriama or Kalenjin tribes. They have a sense of identity, but due to the conflict that ethnicity has brought in this country, they rarely talk about the beauty of ethnicity; where somebody comes from and what it should mean. Therefore, this Bill is critical because it provides a framework for Article 11 of the Constitution that talks about culture, and that it is the foundation of any nation. Indeed, sociologists and philosophers now argue that the problems that we have with the youth may be as a result of the de-generation of culture over time. Many people want to go back and re-invent that culture; to look at how things were done. For example, they want to look at how men became brave by going into the forests and learning how to fight. They were taught how to kill animals like the lions. They were taught about culture and there was so much beauty. There was a transition from being a young person to puberty and all that went with it. The riddles, proverbs and anything cultural helped to bring about a cohesive, knowledgeable, stable and clear society that would protect its own. There was always an agreed format of reaction, starting with a key language that members of a community shared. Therefore, from the beginning it was easy for them to communicate. Article 11 of the Constitution is given substance through this particular Bill, which is critical and important. As other Senators have said, it touches on the national and the county levels. This Bill would not have come at a better time when we are looking at county governments. Therefore, their role in emphasizing and strengthening that cultural issue becomes easy, unlike if we did not have the 47 counties. This gives us an opportunity to do that. It also gives a framework for Articles 40 and 69 (1), which talk about cultural rights and the rights that Kenyans have and need to have for them to protect their society. One of the good things that we have, which applies to Kenya and Africa in general, is the richness of cultures. Many of these cultures have not been documented. That is where the problems lies. We take everything for granted and as natural. The transmission of knowledge and culture comes through oral stories. Only a few people have bothered to look at the oral stories, to find out their meanings and teach the younger generation. For example, in my family, I have two uncles who really understand the culture and can trace their history from up to four generations. I told them to document their knowledge because no one will be able to trace and understand the value of having names when they are no more. On Saturday, we had a function and we had different people with the name Nzale. One of the visitors and a friend who was in the function wondered how we had all the"
}