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{
    "id": 842783,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/842783/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 25,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I join Sen. Sakaja in passing my condolences to the families that lost their loved ones. I pass my sympathies and pray for God’s grace to be upon them and their families. Secondly, I am glad to hear from the Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Health that they are doing something about this issue. We had extensive discussions in this House last week about the performance of that Committee, and I am happy that their response this week is a clear indication of progress that has been made for the last one week. Thirdly, it is only when we get the facts that we can come up with proper interventions as a House. There are many conflicting conversations about the Pumwani Maternity Hospital issue. One is the circumstances under which the babies died. I hope the Committee will come up with an answer on that issue. Two is the question of preservation of bodies in that hospital. I agree with Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. that Pumwani Maternity Hospital is 8.2 Km away from the City Mortuary. There is no reason the bodies should be waiting for two to three days before they can be carried to a more dignified place for preservation. Thirdly, there are even more serious allegations as per the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health with regard to child trafficking which is a very serious issue. I saw a report in one of the local television stations about how children and bodies are trafficked--- Perhaps that is why bodies are kept there; not because they have no means to transport them to the City Mortuary. They must be there to be used as an excuse so that every time a healthy child is born, an excuse is given that it is part of the children that have died. Holding them for a longer period gives traffickers more excuse and time. It is avery lucrative business and international in nature. If one has been watching Cable News Network (CNN), it has been running a programme that is bringing attention to the slavery that is child trafficking. I had an opportunity to work with John Hopkins University in Washington DC in my days; ten years ago, on an anti-trafficking project. It is a mess especially in countries where they are in conflict and places where we have slums. Pumwani Maternity Hospital is so popular because it is a catchment area of people who live in slums. Since we have the Free Maternity Programme, then we have enough number for this business to thrive. 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."
}