Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 960413,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/960413/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 224,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Kenyan took us to a hotel facility; a club that Her Majesty’s Government has set aside for veterans and members of the disciplined forces who have come from war, who are retired and also those in active service. When you go there, you can get accommodation and meals at very subsidized rates. If you have ever been in the disciplined forces, you become a member of that club for life. We saw people who are veterans of Iraq, Kuwait, the wars in Argentina and even those who fought in the World Wars. They come there and they get all that range of support, including psychological, physical and material support. The old timers go there just to read newspapers and touch base with the people they fought alongside. Unfortunately in our Republic, I am not sure whether we have such facilities that are dedicated to those who sacrificed and dedicated their lives to the protection of this Nation. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Motion should have actionable recommendations, that those who are required to implement them should then follow up with immediate effect. We have our brothers and sisters who are in Somalia. Before this country decided to sit on one table and agreed to discuss, as brothers and sisters who are bound by the territory of the Republic called Kenya, some of us used to ask questions about the viability of the war in Somalia. Let the handshake not make us forget; let it not create amnesia on the fact that our brothers and sisters are out there in Somalia. Let us ask ourselves what the quest for which we are fighting in Somalia is. We have been there for tens of years, and we have lost hundreds of lives. We are not saying that we need to coil our tails, run back home and say that now we are coming back to Kenya, the way the Americans did when they went to Somalia; no. It is important that we, as Parliament – the representatives of the people – find a framework for examining our effort in Somalia. We need to examine our gains so as to do a balance sheet and a liability and asset kind of assessment. I believe that there is a framework for doing that in warfare, so that we can know that all these years that we have been there, what has been the net benefit to Kenya? What has been the net loss to Kenya? The bottom line is this; is Kenya benefitting or losing? This is because every other day, we come from those rural constituencies and we sometimes bury our brothers and sisters without seeing their bodies. There have been cases – and I have been involved in quite a number of them – where you find that you have a cousin in the village who joined the KDF and went to Somalia, and there was an ambush. Definitely, when you sign up for war, such things are bound to happen. You find sad situations where a mother has to bury a son, ashes or just a small part of the body of the son. That is the quest of war; that is what we sign up for. That is what these officers of our disciplined forces sign up for. What then is the gain for the Nation and the society? What is the gain for that mother, who has to bury the finger of a son who was burnt up in and Improvised Electronic Devices (IED) attack somewhere in Somalia? How do we sell the benefits of that continued engagement there? Madam Temporary Speaker, our disciplined forces of this country are very highly trained. We know them because they are our brothers and sisters. If you are looking for some of the best medical professionals, they are in the disciplined forces. Some of the best engineers and IT persons are in the disciplined forces. In fact, the Internet was an invention of a defence agency called Bapanet, which was a defense agency of the USA 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."
}