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"content": "sat in Makutano, where there is no cattle rustling, even though we understand that at some point, some people went there to steal some livestock. Therefore, I support the Motion but I am not happy that the people of Marakwet East, who were the culprits--- Due to the fact that we do not move up and down like the Pokots, we are the ones who have suffered most. If I may give the Committee a hint, which is not captured in this Report, cattle rustling started when somebody called “Chelain” was killed in 1975, and when in 1995 somebody was killed in Sang’utan. I hope that the Committee will go back to history. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, somebody has published hearsay in this Report; the people of Murkutuor were killed, and their houses are now open graves, yet the Committee never spoke to anybody in that area. So, what is the Committee reporting about this area? I doubt whether the Committee actually visited the people concerned. Maybe, the Committee just talked to people who are found in towns like us. Although now this is water under the bridge, I would recommend that they come to Kerio Valley and see what hon. Kamama, hon. Litole and I have done. What should have been captured in the Committee’s Report is what the Committee ought to have seen happening amongst the people of Marakwet East, Pokot Central and Pokot East. We now have had peace for seven years in that area, because we leaders decided to talk amongst them, and to preach peace without considering whether we would lose politically or not. I remember in my first meeting with hon. Kamama in 2003, we called our people on both sides and talked to them, while still appreciating the fact that our Parliamentary seats could be in danger; the practice then used to be that if you spoke and showed that you could protect the people, then you were the MP of the day. So, we decided that even if one of our brothers, or relatives was involved, they would suffer the consequences. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I had not seen the Kolowa Declaration. What has sustained hon. Kamama and I up to now? How have we been compensating one another? These are things I feel this Committee should have captured in its Report. I would be more than ready to tell them more of what we have done such that we have had peace for the last seven years. Another cause of cattle rustling, which was not captured by the Committee in this Report is female genital mutilation. You will find that areas which are prone to cattle rustling are areas where young men want to steal cattle to marry wives. It is because somebody has prepared wives for them. Female genital mutilation is a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. So, when men hear that the girls have been circumcised, they prepare themselves to marry those girls. Due to the need to pay dowry, they go and steal cattle. In fact, on the day the girls come out of seclusion, cattle rustling will have taken place because men have to be ready with cows to marry them immediately. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, therefore, it is important to address the issue of capacity building and helping people to understand the dangers of female genital mutilation, so that they can do away with it. That way, there can be no more cattle rustling, because people will have to look for other ways of raising dowry to marry. Secondly, if girls are not removed from school and circumcised at an early age, they will"
}