Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 921624,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/921624/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 80,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I cannot and will never support arbitrary behavior by anybody in a position of responsibility. That notwithstanding, gambling is a vice that should never be encouraged in any country or situation. Let me pose a question to the hon. Senators. Sen. Sakaja, would you allow your son to gamble? The automatic answer would be “no” because it is a vice. We cannot stand here and say that Robinhood was not a criminal because he was taking money from his victims and giving it to others. He remained a criminal. We should not, as leaders, encourage our country to be turned into a casino economy. Gambling has a lot of vices. I receive a lot of messages from parents whose children have gambled school fees and have been sent away from school. I receive messages from families in distress because of gambling. As we look at this matter, we must borrow a leaf from that Member of Parliament who spoke in the House of Commons - I believe many hon. Members have seen it - decrying the vices being visited on Kenya by SportPesa and other gambling agencies away in the United Kingdom. I want to encourage this House that we can never substitute hard work with pata potea . It cannot work. Pata potea is a game that has been fought everywhere. I want to encourage hon. Members to look for a book called The History ofCrime and Mobs in the USA . It talks of Al Capone and all those criminals who were gambling, killing people and doing all manner of things. My distinguished nephew is the patron of our beloved club, AFC Leopards. The fact that SportPesa has given a token to AFC Leopards does not make what they do to be acceptable. Whether it is SportPesa or Betin, very strong regulations must be put in place. More importantly, one has to ask the question that Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. asked. Why did the Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury and Planning decide to reduce the taxes on gambling from 35 per cent to 20 per cent? If these people are to be reined in, the Government has got the capacity and ability to monitor their gambling machines and tell them: “These are your takings; this is what you must pay to the Government.” A government that also wants to live on the proceeds of crime, participates in that crime. I want to encourage us to find better ways because we have so many ways of helping our youth. 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."
}