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{
    "id": 835954,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/835954/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 248,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "that transport is normally subsidized to make sure that people have safe and dependable public transport. My last word on this issue is this; that bus, leaving here at 1.00 a.m., was able to pass through all the road blocks from Nairobi up to Fort Ternan. I have driven many times from Nairobi to Kisumu, and the many roadblocks you meet on the way are phenomenal. In fact, at one time, the Rwandan Government was complaining that the moment you cross Busia on your way to Mombasa, you must have batches of envelopes full of dollars to pay at every road block. This bus, which was overloaded with passengers and in a terrible condition, was able to pass through all these road blocks to kill people somewhere in Fort Ternan. The Inspector-General (IG) of Police said that the person who should take responsibility is the Commander in Kericho County, and that everybody else does not really matter. In some places like in India, for example, I remember when there was such an accident, the Minister had to go because he wanted to take responsibility just because of one train crash. There was no reason for blaming him, since he was neither there nor was he part of that corporation; but just to show, as a mark of respect for the dead and that the Government had some accountability, he resigned. This happens in many jurisdictions. However, in Kenya, nobody takes accountability. We now do not know whether it is the NTSA or the Traffic Police. In fact, on the ground, people are saying that the police are better than the county government. I know that the county government has done quite well since, but institutions are now fighting each other as to who is to take accountability. The Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security and Coordination of National Government and the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure should take responsibility and assure the country on what they are going to do in the near future to ensure that our people are safe. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, if you read stories about what is happening in war zones like in Syria – where fighter jets are being used with weapons of mass destruction – when 10 to 20 people die, it is a major massacre. However, in Kenya, 50 people die in one place, in one moment and this is just another day; and tomorrow will be another day. Sooner, all that will be forgotten until we get another 100 people dead. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is one incident where the President, just as a mark of accountability, should hold the IG of Police, the Cabinet Secretary as well as the Principal Secretary for Internal Security and Coordination of National Government accountable. He should hold them to account and demand that they either resign or take some kind of accountability which can be measured in terms of actions."
}