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{
"id": 816193,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/816193/?format=api",
"text_counter": 138,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Garissa Township, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Aden Duale",
"speaker": {
"id": 15,
"legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
"slug": "aden-duale"
},
"content": " Hon. Speaker, I have not taken the mercury sugar and so, I am very sober. Two, I am not a lawyer representing any of the purported people facing the courts, like Hon. Otiende Amollo. I have only one job and that is the job of Member for Garissa Township and the Leader of the Majority Party. Let me not use names but institutions. You have even mentioned an Article of the Constitution which Hon. Otiende Amollo, when he was working for the Committee of Experts (CoE), created and the people of Kenya agreed with them. The Article creates the positions of Leader of the Majority Party and the Leader of the Minority Party. The Chairperson of SRC then, and even till today, does not recognise that position. They treat the occupants of those two offices and even the Whips just like any ordinary Members of Parliament. That is a fact. Now we have an opportunity, as Parliament, to deal with the matter of the composition of the men and women who will serve in SRC. Even when KDF, TSC, and the Judiciary nominate men and women, this House has an opportunity to vet those nominees. We have an opportunity to say what the law says. There is a Bill before this House, which was read the First Time yesterday, on the pecking order. Today, if you ask SRC something about the pecking order, you will be told that a Member of Parliament is number 48 in the pecking order. Who placed Members of Parliament at number 48? It is SRC. In fact, they were biased towards dealing with other arms of Government. The way they dealt with Parliament is different from the way they dealt with the Judiciary and the Executive. So, let us not speak for the tribal cocoons or regions we belong to. Let us do the vetting as per the law. I have nothing against Ben Chumo, but I was not part of the case he is facing in court. In as far as the case he is facing in court… I am not a lawyer. I have no law firm. If he is paying some lawyers, you can only defend him in a court of law and not in the Chamber. Section 62 of the EACC Act disqualifies him. Hon. Speaker, you chair the Committee on Appointments. In the Act, the three criteria we use to vet an individual are qualification, experience and integrity. That is why relevant committees of this House, and it is in the report, give EACC an opportunity to write a confidential letter on a nominee. The DCI and the DPP must clear a person. Even if you did not pay your university loan, this is the opportunity to be asked: Were you a recipient of HELB loans? Yes. Did you pay? That is why KRA is given an opportunity to tell Parliament about your tax compliance. So, if the EACC and the DCI have indicted Ben Chumo, this House-- - He is facing a criminal case in a competent anti-corruption court. This House has no business. Our hands are tied. Ben Chumo, you float in the sea and look for a lifesaver. This House cannot save you. Finally, you know Hon. Charles Kilonzo was with us in the 10th Parliament, when there were ministers here. The Minister for Interior used to sit here. The Minister for Finance, like Amos Kimunya, used to sit here too. So, if you did not pay allegiance to them, you would not get resources in your constituencies. We used to beg ministers at the lounge. This is a different 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."
}