Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 687712,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/687712/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 477,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Minority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, thank you for giving me an opportunity. First, I salute all the 14 Members who served on this Committee; seven Members from this House and the seven Members from the National Assembly. When this Committee was set up, some radio stations cynically remarked that some Members like my friend hon. Moses Kuria and hon. Jimmy Angwenyi had been deliberately put in the Committee by Jubilee to go and cause a fracas. However, the information we have is that the proceedings were tranquil, non-partisan and patriotic. When they were starting their proceedings, I addressed the Joint Committee. I could see how eager everybody was ready to do their work. This Committee report is so important to this country because the manner in which the outcome of elections is received can lead to peace, tranquility and prosperity of this country or confusion. This country has recorded more than three conflicts at different times either preceding, during or after elections, the worst being 2007/2008. I fully support the Report and the accompanying Bills. I was disheartened while coming back to the Chamber when I heard one Member speak in a manner that I thought was completely out of tune. You cannot have everything. I salute this Committee because many people have accused the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) of ceding too much ground to Jubilee. However, as a leader on the CORD side, I have said to everybody that you cannot go and negotiate from a fixed position. You go to negotiate because you have a different positions and the person or group you are negotiating with have a different position and you must find a middle ground. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, looking at the report, you can see that each of the 14 Members has appended their signature, signifying that it is a unanimous decision of the Committee and is a Committee report reached by consensus. I know that there are certain issues that some Members are uncomfortable with but I also want to encourage Kenyans that the question of IEBC commissioners leaving office in the manner that is recommended is neither an assault nor a derogation of the constitutional provision. This is a negotiated process. You and I and everybody else know that when you hold an office of public confidence, even where you are not culpable, once the public has lost confidence in you, you are obligated to reconsider your position. I salute the commissioners, among them there are bad ones and good ones. It is a cocktail of the good the bad and the ugly, but they all appeared before the Committee and said that if their position was putting the peace and future of this country on a slippery path, then they would opt to leave office. That alone is patriotic thinking and decision. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, they could have dug in for a bruising, ugly and fatal fight in terms of character. They opted to say that they would leave to do something else for their country. As we go to elections, we always as lawyers say that justice is not what you as the judge is doing but what the public think you are doing. The perception you create is what people see and perceive to be justice. The public had lost confidence in 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."
}