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{
    "id": 907642,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/907642/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 443,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mwaura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13129,
        "legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
        "slug": "isaac-mwaura"
    },
    "content": "they know their neigbours properly, the answer is that they do not. We are no longer living in a communal society; people are alone. It is you and your family versus the world. It is up to you to know what to do with your problems. In fact, there is a popular saying that kila mtu apambane na hali yake . Therefore, in that kind of a situation, people do not know how to speak up. Our traditional structures of counseling and psycho-social support are broken. We do not have men’s associations where people will go to be given what we call in my local language kirira. This is where a person is given advice on how to deal with societal matters based on the wisdom of those who have gone before them. Now, people have to deal with their issues in the best way they know how, for example, they Google or keep quiet about it. In particular, men are not supposed to be seen to be weak or cowardly. In fact, I recently saw on social media a video of a woman who was seriously beating her husband, and it has become a matter of ridicule. Therefore, men feel like they cannot open up or share. Where do they go to? That is why they drowse themselves in alcohol and get into drugs and substance abuse. As many Senators have said, it explains why people are engaging in suicide. We all remember the case of Ivy Wangeci and the lover, who had to travelled all the way from Thika to Eldoret just to kill a girl because of matters love. Recently, I saw a little boy of 11 years who killed himself. He was the only son to the mother. You can, therefore, imagine the anguish that the family is going through. We also need to look at the prevalence of these cases. Sometimes, when we talk about regions, it is good to own up to the problem. However, it is true that it has been proven that in tobacco belts, people have more mental challenges. Therefore, there is a direct covariance between tobacco-growing and may be, usage. There is a problem, maybe because of various chemicals used to grow the product. Majority of the people that we interacted with around Migori area have intellectual disabilities. I do not mean everybody from Migori. That has been proven by the Kenya Association of the Intellectual Handicapped (KAIH). That is why it is important to have the county governments take up the responsibility of mental health. I am happy that in this Bill, Sen. Kasanga wants it to be everybody’s responsibility. We should put our money where our mouths are, because we have budgets. If a society or government is committed, then there must be proper budgeting. It is true that there are a lot of sexual violations on girls and women with mental disabilities. That is common because of power relations when it comes to consent and understanding. In many places in this country and beyond, you will find women and girls who suffer from mental illnesses have children and nobody knows who the fathers of these children are. There is a case I had to deal with where a parent was using her own daughter. Men would sleep with that girl in exchange for money. In that case, the utility of a child with a mental condition was to the benefit of the parent. We have also had situations where men take advantage of children with mental illnesses and impregnate them. These are some of the issues that should be addressed. If we are amenable to the issue of mental health, then people will take it positively and intervene. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}