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{
    "id": 734069,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/734069/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 170,
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    "content": "people extending their terms of office, pulling off the nails of their political opponents and clinging on to power indefinitely and we do not know when they will exit the presidency. Kenya sometimes hangs out with these people with bad habits. I see that temptation once in a while trickle over to Kenya, by people trying to make proclamations akin to what you see in these pseudo-democracies. I will not mention any specifically. Even where we have a lot of faith like in Tanzania, I hear about an unprecedented crackdown on the media and the Opposition. On one side they say that they do not want corruption, and on the other side, they are violating the constitution and human rights; stifling space and freedom of expression. That is a contradiction. In fact, to fight corruption you need a robust media and Opposition. You cannot stifle the Opposition and say that you are fighting corruption. You cannot stifle oversight by Parliament and say that you are fighting corruption. Today, the Opposition in Tanzania cannot hold political rallies. Some media houses are being shut down for the most flimsy of reasons. Journalists are being prosecuted in Tanzania for something called “insulting the presidency or the President”. We must be a community of common values. That is what I have been saying repeatedly. Our populations are literally disenfranchised through poverty. It is mismanagement by a few people who cling to power to steal from the State and preservation. This community must be about common values. The EU Community talks about common standards of democracy, human rights, migration and many other issues. What are our common templates? We are obsessed about some pseudo-developments, free movement of goods and services and the East Africa passport then we think it is an achievement. Our heads of states gather somewhere; put so much money and protocol just to launch a passport. I hope this Parliament can have the teeth to interrogate the transactions of respective States and call them to account. These people can be an enforcement agency. EALA and the East Africa Court of Justice should be empowered by a review of our treaty as an oversight agency so that we have common standards. The standards should be democratic. We are all happy to see five presidents cuddling and shaking hands and raising their hands time and again when their nations are not making any progress. This is a different time. Therefore, different policies and values should inform our interactions, both at the regional and international level. Kenya must stop interacting with countries that are stifling democracy though we must first be democratic. We must respect the outcome of a free and fair election. Only then can we ensure that we enforce these values. Kenya has been a big brother in terms of democracy and development. However, lately, it has become a bad example. It cannot censure any of these countries. I had hoped that this would be the time when Kenya would play a role such that if it says that you must have an election or exit power, President Pierre Nkurunziza does it. Here we are, we are just a club yet we say that we have to popularize the East Africa Community within our populations because they do not know too much about it. They do not need to know too much about it. Let them see the results. People get to know things through results. The things about common market and transfer of goods and services are clichés. Anybody can do that. We need people, a country or countries whose leadership will 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"
}