Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 812137,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/812137/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 28,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr.",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13156,
        "legal_name": "Mutula Kilonzo Jnr",
        "slug": "mutula-kilonzo-jnr"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support my colleagues in this Statement. I will be a little bit more candid. The fire in Gikomba was deliberate. It was done by arsonists who have the protection of the Nairobi County Government and the police. That is the reason why the police, instead of arresting criminals, they are in Gikomba preventing people from reconstructing their shops under the pretexts that those shops were under a powerline. If that was a good reason, the powerline would have been moved and these people be allowed to reconstruct their businesses. What is more tragic is that Kenyan lives have become like statistics; Solai – 47; Gikomba – 15; yesterday in Makueni 10 people were burnt alive and so on. It has become statistics. As Sen. Sakaja said, if these were 15 affluent Kenyans, everything would come to a standstill. The flag would be lowered to half-mast. We would all be mourning and sending condolence messages through print and electronic media. Nobody has sent a condolence message from any institution to the Solai people and yet they were 47 ordinary, poor people. Nobody has also sent a condolence message to the people of Gikomba. If there was one instance I was proud to be a Kenyan was when the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) ordered for the arrest of the owners of Solai Dam. As I was walking to the Senate, those people are now in the dock in Naivasha Court. Before we started our investigations, these people looked like small gods. Now they are in the same dock with robbers of chickens, with the person who was slaughtering cats and other criminals. They are in the same dock to show that nobody in Kenya is above the law. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we must take action against these people. Nairobi County Government must explain to Kenyans the reasons why the fire brigade which is easily five kilometres away from Gikomba was unavailable on that date. Should we continue losing lives in Gikomba market where Nairobi City County is possibly collecting the most revenue in terms of a market in the City of Nairobi? It looks like a joke that everybody has disappeared and nobody wants to take responsibility for this disaster. We are busy making lofty statements. Why are we asking for an investigation? Why is the DPP not swinging into action? These are just other people; they will not do anything. When we say 15 lives have been lost, maybe we should say Wanjiku, Mutua and so on. We should start having humanity to figures. I have insisted in the case of Solai tragedy, we want those names because we want to deal with a person; a Wanjiku, a Mutua and so on. The people who died in Gikomba are not just 15; these are fathers, mothers and children. There was an instance of a father who sat in this house with his children for three hours chocking in smoke. Finally after saving his children, he fainted. Imagine the effect of smoke on his children and himself. Maybe instead of this statement, the committee in charge should have gone to Gikomba. Let us take some action. Let Kenyans feel our presence as leaders of this country."
}