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{
    "id": 789567,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/789567/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 32,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ng’ongo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The House has a rare privilege. The Members of Parliament who sit in this House have a rare privilege of being the only organ in this country that is given the responsibility to deliberate on and resolve issues of concern to the people. This gentleman from Wajir feels that he has a concern. His concern is that any Kenyan who is above the age of 70 years should not be President of this country. That is his right. We need to respect that right. That is why many Kenyans fought so hard. Yesterday, we were eulogising a great Kenyan; a hero who really fought so hard for us to have the space we are enjoying today where any Kenyan can bring whatever Petition he feels is important to be resolved by this House. As a House, we have that privilege; we have that responsibility. Contrary to what Hon. Nassir said, I think the Committee should give this gentleman enough time to appear before them and indicate to Kenyans why he feels that anyone above the age of 70 years should not be President and, draw empirical comparisons from across the globe and even within. That is because we are privileged in this country. Apart from the sitting President, all the other Presidents have served when they took over either after the age of 70 years or have served beyond 70 years. We know what they have been able to do. The first President of the Republic of Kenya served way beyond the age of 70 years. The second President started when he was relatively younger, at the age of 50 years plus but ended up serving almost to the age of 80 years. Of course, the immediate former President took over after the age of 70 and served beyond that time. So, we can just draw those comparisons. The sitting President is very young or relatively younger. My point is clear: let Cheptumo’s Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs deal with this matter and listen to this Kenyan and, probably counsel and advise him. Maybe he has a problem with old people. Some of us have problems which are caused by our backgrounds. I know there are people who hate men because, probably, their fathers mistreated them when they were young. There are people who hate women because, probably, they did not get the love they expected from a mother. This Kenyan, probably, has that problem but he does not know how to deal with it. We expect this Committee to appreciate that there is something in The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}