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"speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Kamar",
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"legal_name": "Margaret Jepkoech Kamar",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving the opportunity to join my colleagues in passing my condolences to the two bereaved families; the family of the late Hon. Ken Okoth and the late Governor, Hon. (Dr.) Joyce Laboso. I send condolences both from my family, and on behalf of Uasin Gishu County. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I did not get to know Hon. Ken Okoth, but when I saw that he was only 41 years, my heart went out to his young family, the children he has left behind within a very short time and the people who depended on him. We learnt a lot about Hon. Ken Okoth after his departure because of women who wailed and said that they did not have anybody else to take care of their children, now that Hon. Ken Okoth is gone. We have lost somebody who was not only a breadwinner to his family, but also to the community. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I join my colleagues that we need to interrogate this issue called cancer. This is because at the age of 41, you have not even started to live. When you look at a case like that of Hon. Ken Okoth, you realize that the little he made in this world, he spent it treating himself; so, he has gone with everything. We, therefore, need to ask ourselves how we can make cancer a disease that must be treated through the Universal Health Care (UHC), which is free. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I knew Hon. (Dr.) Joyce Laboso for a very long time. She came to this Parliament when I was in the 10th Parliament. She was an excellent woman, and a trailblazer par excellence. In fact, she took over my position in the Speaker’s Panel when I became an Assistant Minister of Environment. When she came back in the 10th Parliament, there was no doubt that she had performed very well as a member of the Speaker’s Panel and became our first woman Deputy Speaker in this country. Hon. (Dr.) Joyce Laboso worked with us in Parliament, specifically in the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA). She was somebody who freely shared advice, ideas and wanted success for everybody. I would never forget when the 22 Women Members of Parliament were given an opportunity to go for a training course in Sweden, because all of us went. She ended up becoming a resource person herself, because she had a way of interrogating every situation that we were in. She kept interrogating all the issues that we raised, and requested to look at them from the eye of a lecturer, just in case it benefited anybody. We are, therefore, going to miss her. Mr. Speaker, Sir, as far as Rift Valley women are concerned, she was a woman of excellence and a trailblazer, as I had said earlier. In fact, during her campaign to be governor, it was not only South Rift that campaigned for her, but the whole of the North Rift went for the campaigns. We actually used to go all the way from as far as Trans Nzoia, and all of us from Uasin Gishu and Nandi would go as a convoy to campaign for her. This is because we could see a lot in her; her determination and boldness. For her to have campaigned against a very strong former Cabinet Minister and Governor was something that was unique. We are, therefore, going to miss her. I pray for the two families. May God be with them and strengthen them during this time. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am glad we are going to be discussing the issue of cancer in this House. We need to separate two issues; whether Kenya is researching or not 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."
}