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{
    "id": 798332,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/798332/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 214,
    "type": "other",
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    "content": "able to say “That for those that I have wronged by act of omission or commission, I apologise, let us turn a new leaf.” That is precisely what this country needs for us to be a united country. The happenings of the handshake have been interpreted and have been misinterpreted by many people. Some of us have been vilified for being proponents of the handshake before the handshake happened. If you remember, on the 26th October, 2017, when we went to an election, I happened to be in a place where a colleague of mine from ODM was being attacked and I did not think of whether there was a handshake or no handshake; we had to act as leaders to protect him. I remember the other day, a colleague of ours; Hon. Babu Owino, from NASA was wrongfully detained in prison, I did not wait for the handshake. As leaders, we should see beyond our divisions and differences of tribes and party. As much as I may have been vilified and praised in equal measure, we now want to see concrete actions and activities that give credence to what this handshake is. Time and time again, I have seen that the pain that a mother feels in Kisumu when she cannot feed a child is the same pain that a mother in Kwale County feels when she cannot provide food and nutrition for her child. The same joy that a father in Kisii like Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri feels when his child grows and succeeds is the same joy that a father in Murang’a or Turkana will feel. We have more that unites us in this country than what divides us but for the last 50 years we have had politics that is poisonous. It is politics that has focused more on what divides us than what unites us as a people. We hope that this handshake will help us turn a new leaf as a people so that we can focus on those things that unite us. We should focus on the real needs of our people. I keep telling my people that my slogan is Siasa Safi and it remains my slogan in Nairobi. We should have politics that is not about the past but about the future which is not about insults but encouragement. It is not about tribe but issues and real development to the people. That is what the people in Nairobi and this country need. We are asking for our people to be included yet in this country according to the 2009 census, only nine per cent of Kenyans were above the age of 50.That means that 91 per cent of people in this country are below the age of 50. If this handshake is driven by guilt of the past, then let it be led by people who can vividly remember where the divisions started but if this handshake is being driven by hope for the future for a new Kenya, then we must not ask for inclusion. We must start our own activities as young leaders of today and tomorrow across the country and then wait for others to ask to be joined in. Power is not given, it is taken, Sen. Were and I know you are ready, Sen. Cherargei is ready and as the Chairperson of the young parliamentarians, I am glad that all legislators below that age of 40 - we are welcoming even those who are older for you might be young at heart - to join us as we start real activities of uniting our people. It is young people of my age who went out in the streets; it is young people of my age who are misused to cause violence. It is not a matter of ageism; it is about those who can carry through the promise that we make of uniting our country. As I conclude, I know that I am out of time but I will ask for five more minutes just like Sen. Malalah. I am sure that you are a fair Speaker and you will grant me that. 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."
}