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{
    "id": 785969,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/785969/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 240,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Andrew Adipo Oluoch",
    "speaker_title": "The Member for Mathare",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13362,
        "legal_name": "Andrew Adipo Okuome",
        "slug": "andrew-adipo-okuome-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to speak. Even though I have spoken before on the question of constitutionality of a certain Bill, this is my first opportunity to speak substantially. I want to first take this opportunity to thank the people of Mathare Constituency which is in Nairobi for giving me the opportunity to serve as their Member of Parliament. I promise to serve them diligently without fear or favour. Mathare Constituency is one of those cosmopolitan constituencies where you have the face of Kenya. We have the Boranas, Kikuyus, Rendilles, Kisiis, Luos and Luhyas. Basically, if you come to Mathare Constituency, you will find the entire Kenya there. As their Member of Parliament, I will not be serving them as Antony or as a member of my community but as a citizen. Secondly, I rise to oppose this Motion. One of the key tenets of our Constitution, 2010 is on the question of the rule of law. As I speak to you, the reason I am making my maiden speech today is because about four months of my work as a Member of Parliament was curtailed. One Sunday I took my children to church but never saw them again for another 10 days. The reason that happened is because I went with His Excellency, my party leader, Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga to intervene in a situation in Mathare and Ruaraka Constituencies where residents were exercising their rights under Article 37 of the Constitution. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, even without this power that we now want to give the Executive and the police to limit these rights, the police have demonstrated that they can act rogue. Without provocation, peaceably and unarmed, the police fired teargas, water cannons and shot at me. As result, I had a broken leg that had me hospitalised at Nairobi Hospital for a period of more than 10 days. My colleague who spoke before you, Hon. Mbui, also peaceably and unarmed, while welcoming His Excellency Raila Amollo Odinga from the airport, as I watched in the car just before him, was teargassed, shot at and as a result broke his leg. He, just like me, lost nearly four months of active ability to represent his people both in Parliament and in his constituency. So, as I rise to oppose this Bill, I first want to ask that we spend a little time thinking about the constitutionality of this law."
}