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{
    "id": 895621,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/895621/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 139,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I will go quickly because of time. Two issues come to mind when one looks at this Petition. One is the relation between the military and the civilians. That is something I am not sure which Committee will deal with it. Is it the Senate Committee on Lands and Natural Resources or the Senate Committee National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations? That is something that sticks out as a sore thumb in many parts of our country. Madam Temporary Speaker, we solved a similar problem in Utawala, Nairobi in 2015/2016 where a road that members of the public were using had been blocked. However, we were able to bring them together with the community to agree amicably. Madam Temporary Speaker, I hope it is a coincidence that the increase in harassment of the public by the military in isiolo County has grown in the same proportion as the increase in radicalization in that county. If you look at the last attack in Dusit D2, many people said that the cells where radicalization is happening are in Isiolo County. Therefore, the first issue that must be looked at is the relationship between the military and civilians. Secondly, we must relook the planning of some of these facilities, air base and installation of security. Madam Temporary Speaker, as Sen. Poghisio has said, possibly, that kind of land is not needed for that kind of operation. We do not need 10 bases in one county. Madam Temporary Speaker, in Nairobi, Eastleigh Air Base, covering so much land was built in 1936. Do we need an air base in Eastleigh which is in the middle of town? It is also a security threat to the people of Eastleigh. If that land was used, for example, for urban housing, we would have sorted out issues. This is because a city that is growing cannot have an area in the center of the city where, for example, a person cannot build above a certain height and it is actually a threat. We must look at these installations. I need a compelling argument as to why, for instance, the Embassy of Israel is right next to Loreto Convent, Valley Road Girls Secondary School. Our girls are like human shields. Also, for a person to pass there, there are thorough security checks yet they are next to our girls. Therefore, we need to have a real calibration of some of these security installations which are not moving with the times. Madam Temporary Speaker, from 1936 to 2019, the need for that air base and certain embassies to be in certain areas might not be the same. Therefore, I urge the Committee to look beyond the issues in this petition. They should sort out the issue of Isiolo because it is a ticking time bomb. However, on top of that, to look at the efficacy of some of these public installations, especially the ones that deal with security."
}