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{
    "id": 843120,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/843120/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 95,
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    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, it was Kofi Annan who appointed me, on my retirement as Attorney General, to be the UN Representative to East Timor. I could not take up the position because I opted to join politics, and that is why I am here today. Had I accepted that position, I would not be standing in this august Assembly. He appointed me because I had been the special envoy of Boutros Boutros Ghali, the Secretary General of the UN, to East Timor and Indonesia. It was Kofi Annan who suggested that I should seek election to the International Law Commission. I was duly nominated by the Kenya Government and elected by the General Assembly of the UN Organization. The last election was last year and I am a member of that august body until my term expires at the end of December 2021. During the mediation talks that followed the post-election violence, although I was not part of the panels appointed by either side, in view of my constitutional office that I held at that time as the Attorney General, I can confirm that H.E. Kofi Annan consulted me from time to time whenever there was a development, when he thought that I could advise him on how to handle the matter. One such development was when everything had been agreed on, except the issue of whether what had been agreed required a constitutional amendment or an ordinary legislation. On this issue, either side stood their ground. Kofi Annan had more or less given up. H.E. President Kikwete of Tanzania was called and before he arrived, Kofi Annan called me for discussions on the issue. We discussed for a very long time that evening. When he sought my opinion on the issue, I told him that if the agreement was to be protected from the immense powers that the President had at that time under the Constitution, then it was necessary for a constitutional amendment to be enacted. On hearing this, he then told me to expect to be called the following day to state my position before the Panel of Eminent Persons and the two main protagonists, His Excellency Mwai Kibaki and His Excellency Raila Amolo Odinga. Madam Temporary Speaker, the following day, I was duly called and gave my opinion. Sen. Orengo was then called and gave a similar opinion. Sen. Orengo and I were then mandated to draft the final agreement during lunch hour and present it for signing that afternoon, and that was duly done. His Excellency Kofi Annan together with his predecessor, Boutros Boutros Ghali, contributed immensely to my international career. I want to put on record my utmost appreciation to them. I learnt a lot from the demeanour of Kofi Annan; his humility, commitment to peace, human rights, the development of Africa, independence of mind and his dignified bearing, which I believe he inherited because he came from an aristocratic family of the Ashantis in Ghana. Madam Temporary Speaker, in retirement, I would frequently meet him in Geneva, walking around Lake Geneva and in deep contemplation and so on. We would exchange a few pleasantries. I could at times go to his foundation and exchange a few views and update him on the developments in Kenya. May the Almighty God give strength and comfort to the family of Kofi Annan during this period of sorrow and rest his soul in eternal peace. Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. 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."
}