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{
    "id": 71948,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/71948/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 424,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "47 Thursday, 9th December, 2010(P) Mr. Midiwo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the adoption of this Report in its entirety. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have been a Member of the Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade now for eight years. Since the beginning of this saga of Charterhouse Bank, I have sat in those meetings. What is out there in the media is nothing new from what we had in the Ninth Parliament. We have sat as a Committee and listened to the evidence from the Government; from the Governor of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the then Acting Head of Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), Dr. Mutonyi. We also heard from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). None of these people are saying anything that they have against this bank. We have been agonizing about what this bank could have done so wrong that everybody who initially said everything was wrong with it is now saying nothing is wrong with it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, to take the cue from hon. C. Kilonzo, the reason for closure of any bank is insolvency. Evidence was adduced before the Committee that this bank is more solvent than most banks in the country. There is nowhere in the Banking Act that anybody – even the Governor of CBK – has any iota of power that they can close any bank under any circumstances other than the reason of insolvency, and it is stipulated in law. Therefore, that a Government could wake up one morning and send people to go and close a bank is puzzling. If there were any criminal acts by this bank – and I am not saying there is none – they have nothing to do with banking. You cannot close a bank simply because Nakumatt banks there or Nakumatt has not paid taxes. Banks do not collect taxes. Banks do not file tax returns for business. The American Ambassador keeps telling Kenyans that there is no evidence. Last week, we asked the current head of the KACC to give us evidence before we wrote the Report so that he does not embarrass us after we do the report. I flew from here to Sand N Sand, Mombasa, with evidence which was already before the Committee. There was nothing new. They go and take checks of what is already there and say they have new evidence just to spice up. I have always wondered what this bank could have done that nobody is telling this country. If you are talking about money laundering, this country just passed the Anti-Money Laundering Law and it came into effect this year. If that be the case, why would a foreigner be saying that the bank is involved in money laundering, something which was not a crime in our country as at the time when the bank was closed? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, just for the record, the Chairman, hon. Okemo, was in the other Committee with me in the Ninth Parliament. If you read communications between embassies, they said that we were corrupted to absolve the bank and when we say: “Give us the evidence---“ You may wish to know that Kenyans have put their money in this bank and for all that time, they cannot assess it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, because there may be other contributions, I beg to support the adoption of this Report."
}