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"id": 837329,
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"content": "got a PhD in fluvial geomorphology. Prof. Ouma Muga proceeded to establish the Moi University College of Environmental Sciences and, later on, joined politics to become the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rangwe Constituency. He then became an Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Environment and the Secretary-General of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD-Kenya). Madam Temporary Speaker, Prof. Ouma Muga died in poverty and he was a forgotten man for a long period in his life. It did not matter what contribution he made to this nation and it did not matter what achievements he had notched up in pursuit of life. That is the state of the elderly in this Republic. Currently, my County of Homa Bay is mourning another elder, a gentleman known as Aketch Chieng, who we nicknamed “Magunga”. This is a man who, during the days of the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party, straddled the political environment like a colossus. This is the man who chaired the disciplinary Committee of KANU, which incidentally expelled Prof. Ouma Muga from the party, from where he lost his seat as the MP for Rangwe. It is quite an irony that the day we were burying Prof. Ouma Muga is the day that Aketch Chieng died at the age of 79. For a man who wielded a lot of power and who was the Chairman of South Nyanza County Council – which is the present day Migori and Homa Bay counties; a geographical zone with about three million people and close to one million voters - he died in poverty. We are preparing to give him a heroic send-off, but unfortunately, we were unable to take care of him in life. That is the state of the elderly. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill does a good job of taking us back to thinking about the status and condition of the elderly. In the traditional societies, the elderly were the sages and the leaders. In fact, there are those who believe that in this House, someone of my age has no business sitting here because old age is associated with wisdom. In fact, when the United States of America (USA) established their Senate, a person had to be a land or property owner; or one who has attained a certain age to sit in the Senate. The same was the case even in the original Senate in Rome. Therefore, old age has been associated with all good things. Unfortunately, in Kenya, the old face challenges that are preventable. For example, the people who work for Kenya Railways (KR) are dirt poor, yet their money is squandered and their properties are all over the country. Kenya Railways has one of the richest pension fund or schemes in this country. However, due to mismanagement, anyone who worked at KR is poor today, if they are still alive. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have seen cases where the elderly have been raped. We have seen cases, in certain cultures, where the elderly are being lynched and called witches. Therefore, the interest and welfare of the elderly, as captured in Article 57 of the Constitution, must be looked into. The elderly are prone to theft. There is a new age of con men and women who are using technology to steal from the elderly, particularly on land transactions. If you go to areas like Kiambu, Murang’a or those areas that are adjacent to urban areas, you will find many old men and women who have been dispossessed of their land due to fraud that is happening in land registries throughout this country. Last but not the least, Madam Temporary Speaker, is the issue of health. When a person attains some advanced age, for example, for men at 40, issues of prostate cancer The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes"
}