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{
    "id": 926146,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/926146/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 187,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Narok North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Richard ole Kenta",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 420,
        "legal_name": "Richard Moitalel ole Kenta",
        "slug": "richard-moitalel-ole-kenta"
    },
    "content": " Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I have heard what my colleague has said. One thing that we should be open about is when they visited the place to undertake public participation. They went when the camp was already there. The community was locked out and they had a rough time. How was there a camp before the land was acquired and before the authorisation by NEMA and all the others? This was something that was pushed through the throats of the community. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, as you have heard from the Members who have spoken before me, this land is within the precincts of the Maasai Mara National Game Reserve, which is the Eighth Wonder of the world. The logic of buying this land was not for defence. It is somebody who wanted to offload 5,000 acres, which he had acquired illegally – and they know it - to the Government of Kenya through the military. That is why there was force. There was no public participation. They know it. What the Committee did, and we commend them for that, is to stop the purchase of the 5,000 acres. I have appeared before the Committee in the presence of the Minister for Defence and the Minister confirmed that they did not require the 5,000 acres. They only required 100 acres. Even the 894 acres do not make sense at all. When you talk about willing buyer willing seller, how can it be that you do not look at the environmental impact? There should have been a study. Even if it is my land, I must consult my neighbour. Did they accept? They never accepted. The other issue is that the 5,000 acres were taken from young people. It was land set apart for the young generation of the Maasai people. The group ranch representatives, in collusion with land officers and some politicians, decided to allocate themselves land and sold the 5,000 acres to somebody who now wants to offload it. What I am simply saying is that what has been done is completely wrong. This is not the only place that you can put such equipment or hardware. There is Lanet in Nakuru. When you talk about security, on the other side of the border, is the Serengeti. What is the threat? So, for Parliament to look at this thing in a way that will show the Kenyan people that we are serious about fighting corruption, let them go back and revisit the issue and bring a fully baked report. Nobody is disputing that we need security, but we do not need security that destroys other communities. We are a pastoralist community. The military has already started harassing people there when they do not even own the land. We know it was not for military purposes, but for a grabber to offload the land. That is a fact and we do not want Parliament to be taken for a ride. I do not want to belabour this point. The Report is self-explanatory. The conclusion says: “The Ministry of Defence should carry out due diligence on the ownership of the proposed land to be acquired and the compensation of the bona fide owners of the land.” First of all, they did not identify the owners. They have not done the due diligence and you are already in occupation. So, which land are you occupying? What is your right over that land? The taxpayer is paying billions of shillings to brokers. Then they go on to the second. There is going to be future expansion. Mark you, they only needed 100 acres and now they are talking about 5,000 acres. “In the event of future expansion of the FOB and other related projects, the Ministry of Defence should carry out diligence to authenticate ownership of all the neighbouring parcels of land whose ownership is currently disputed before acquisition.” The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}