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{
    "id": 692279,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/692279/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 230,
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    "speaker_name": "",
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    "content": "Europe between the two wars, there was a movement towards political domination. Parties were coming up not to practice democracy and give everybody a chance but to seek domination. I am afraid that what Jubilee is doing at the moment will be inimical to democracy. They are trying to create a political monolith which will negate the gains that we have made. I mean, in the spirit of creating reconciliation and peace amongst ourselves, we have gone against party hopping. Now, buying political leaders from other political parties is no better. In fact, these defections that we are hearing about now are worse than party hopping. You find a Member of the Senate defecting before finishing his mandate with the political party that brought him here. I think that is a more serious offence than a hopper who is seeking an opportunity to get into the House. However, for those who are in the House and before they finish their mandate, they become easy prey or make themselves available to a political party that is seeking domination, I think that is something that is even more criminal than the party hopping that we are trying to stop. Let us not get to the old Kenya African National Union (KANU) Party state which was omnipresent, omnipotent and all-domineering. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am saying this because I remember when the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) came into power, NARC appointed KANU Ministers into Government. Then, President Kibaki was in State House and appointed people like Njenga Karume who belonged to KANU as Ministers. The current President and Deputy President gave us the instructions-I and the late Mutula Kilonzo were ready and willing to fight for political space - to challenge that kind of domination. They were appointing Ministers from the opposite party. They were killing democracy as it were. This culture that is coming up that we are having a behemoth or beast that is coming up to consume everybody is causing a disaster in this country. I hope the Senate Minority Leader with his colleagues in the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) will put up a hard fight to make sure that this country will never be dominated by a political monolith. To that extent, it can bring bigotry and political conflicts like in Germany. The nationalists wanted complete political domination and there was no space for other political parties. I know that the opposition is up to the task and in that spirit. In 2017, we will have free and fair elections. If there will be no free and fair elections, Kenyans have shown that they can always stand up using the constitutional tools to say “No” to unfair elections. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, since there are a number of people who want to speak on this - and we want to conclude debate on this - I thank everybody who gave his or her contribution in this process. I appeal to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that in the public interest, and in the exercise of the powers granted to him by the constitution, which we cannot interfere with, to drop the cases against Sen. Muthama and Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale together with the six Members from the other House; that these cases be withdrawn before this Bill becomes law. I support. Thank you."
}