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{
"id": 84946,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/84946/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Keynan",
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"speaker": {
"id": 41,
"legal_name": "Adan Wehliye Keynan",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I need to take my brother back. First of all, let me tell you the history of this report. The history of this report is as a result of the mishandling of the Somali crisis. First and foremost, the group that dealt with this issue is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, the Ministry of State for Defence and Kenyans themselves. This is something that he needs to appreciate. Let real or perceived corruption not become a hindrance to the realization of a peaceful Somalia. We understand and appreciate that Kenya is a frontline State. We appreciate the efforts and the resources the Kenyan Government has committed to the realization of peace in Somalia. However, this must be matched with action. As a country, our number one interest as a neighbour to Somalia is to ensure that what is happening there does not spill over to Kenya. This is our interest number one. Secondly, as a frontline State, ours is also to provide logistical support. Once in a while, we pride ourselves over our achievements and say that Kenya is a regional hub. A regional hub in what? Is it in terms of communication, roads or diplomatic infrastructure, security or humanitarian facilities? We say this simply because we have the UN here. But these issues must be matched with actions. I appreciate that we have gone out of our way. We have a fully fledged Kenya Mission in Somalia, which is housed here in Kenya. One of the things that Kenya ought to have done as a frontline State and a neighbour is to move this Mission from here to Mogadishu, in particular, in areas that are being manned by the UNOSOM soldiers and provide leadership instead of wasting hundreds of millions annually here on an office that has no relevance to what we are supposed to achieve in Somalia. With regard to the issue of ethnic profiling, I did not choose to be a Somali. Issues that are tailor-made to engrave the existence of particular communities are made to look like constitutional, yet you know in any aspect, those issues are unconstitutional, illegal, barbaric and tantamount to ethnic cleansing. These issues must be addressed as a group. We, as a country, have chosen to adopt one of the most generous and pragmatic Constitutions, and we promulgated the same on 27th August, 2010. That is not a piece of paper. Down the line, Kenyans are being arrested. I want to insist that criminal responsibility is individual. No community, whether you are a Christian, Muslim, Somali or Kikuyu, if you commit a crime, you carry the baggage as an individual. One of the things that we would really want to find out is why Kenyans are being arrested on flimsy grounds and taken to other countries while we have said that we need to have the rule of law and adhere to the due process of the law. We adopted this document and spent billions of shillings in the process. Shall we theoretically say that we have a document that is generous in terms of human rights fundamentals and, on the other hand, adhere to the jungle law? These are issues that we must reconcile as a country. Otherwise, this new document will just remain a piece of paper simply because the people of Kenya are getting a document from the other side. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the suggestions that we have made in this particular report, and I am glad the Minister of State for Defence is here, is to go the Uganda way, which is to open up border posts at the interval of maybe 20 kilometers. Our borders are not safe. You know what is happening in Southern Sudan. There are issues that we must face as a country. The referendum in Southern Sudan will come. We do not know how that referendum will go. Whose work is it to secure our borders? A country is about land. Secondly, it is about people. Migingo is gone. We lost it. It is not even being talked about today."
}