Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 848380,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/848380/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 283,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "collapse of a building in Huruma. Somebody felt that instead of taking appropriate procedure to get building approval to build a house properly, they took shortcuts, probably, bribed somebody in the Nairobi City County and built a seven-storey building in five months and it went down. We know he has another 10 buildings of the same quality and structural integrity. Unless we put a foot down on this one, Kenyans will continue to lose their lives. Madam Temporary Speaker, this is an example I will not tire of giving; if Ngong River burst its banks and swept away 48 people in Karen, would we be here debating a report more than two months later? People would be in jail. If it was a building in Kileleshwa or Lavington that collapsed killing more than 50 people, we would not be discussing this. I remember the pain of carrying and retrieving dead children from a building that collapsed in Huruma. These children had a future. Let us remember that beyond just the Solai tragedy and sorting it, this country will not be the same if we are a country of justice. What happened on 9th May, 2018 was a deliberate and criminal act on the part of the owner. The dam was not licensed. The dam is, in fact, called Melmet Dam. It did not have a dam licence. It is a pity that a dam carrying more than 300 million litres did not have a licence. Let that sink in. The Cabinet Secretary for Water and Sanitation told us that the dam had no licence. A few weeks later, officials from the Ministry of Water and Sanitation who had accompanied him when he told us there was no licence came and suddenly said that they had applied for a licence. Who is fooling who? We must set a precedent in this House. That is why I have the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act with me here because we have recommended criminal proceeding to be taken against officers who willingly misled this House. When you speak to Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., you are not speaking to him alone, but hundreds of thousands of people of Makueni County. When you speak to Sen. Sakaja in a Committee, it is not me alone because I represent more than five million Nairobians. So, when you come casually to Parliament and decide to either lie to a Committee or misrepresent facts, it is a serious crime. Section 27(1) of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act says- “(1) A person commits an offence where the person— (a) having been duly summoned in terms of section 18 fails, without sufficient cause to— (i) attend at the time and place specified in the summons; or (ii) remain in attendance until excused from further attendance by the person presiding at the inquiry; (b) when called upon under section 20, refuses to be sworn in or to make an affirmation as a witness; or (c) fails or disobeys without sufficient cause to— (i) answer fully and satisfactorily all questions lawfully put to the person under section 20; (ii) produce any document, paper, book or record in the person’s possession, custody or control which the person has been required to produce under section 20. 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."
}