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"speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Mwaura",
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"legal_name": "Isaac Maigua Mwaura",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I knew Sen. (Prof.) Kithure Kindiki way back in the year 2005 when he was a Doctor at the Moi University when we were working together on a project on human rights for people with disabilities, with a group from York University. I am sure that the Professor can remember that. I greatly admired him. Later on, I could see him making commentaries on television on various political and legal issues. All of that, to the extent of, therefore, in the 11th Parliament we were able to meet in the House. If you see Prof. Kindiki on the Floor of the House, you can see that he is actually at peace with himself because he has actually conducted himself in an honorable manner. He has also not forgotten his pedagogy because when Senators speak, he almost wants to award marks, he would say; very well, you have spoken very well here and there, just to show that he is still having his eyes on the academy. Mr. Speaker, Sir, since I joined politics, I have come to see that it is an art of the possible. It is who gets what, where and how. In fact, according to me, it is some form of amorphous formlessness. It is the informality that constitutes the formal. Therefore, there are no clear rules. For example, there is no way that you can explain how an individual A would vote for an individual B and not individual C. There is no guarantee or threshold; it is just a choice. Again, in politics, there are no permanent friends or enemies, only interests. The late National Assembly Minority Leader, Hon. Francis Nyenze, told me when I joined Parliament at the time we had the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), made up of Wiper, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD) Kenya and others and the Jubilee Coalition comprising of The National Alliance (TNA) and United Republican Party (URP). He told me that within six months, you will start to see people changing their political allegiances. Indeed, he was vindicated. It is the same thing that we are also seeing in this 12th Parliament. Interests have changed and a lot has changed. I would like to say, for purposes of record and transparency, that some of us, just as Sen. Kang’ata alluded to, are very much involved in ensuring that we do not come to this decision. Sen. James Orengo, Sen. Njeru Ndwiga and others, you can bear me witness. We really tried to ensure that, indeed, there is a pathway that would ensure that an alternative and the party confidence on the part of Sen (Prof.) Kithure Kindiki is actually restored and he is perpetuated so that we can continue to enjoy his contributions and his presiding over of this House. I am sure he has been very helpful to you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Having said that, I think that there comes a time when decisions have to be made because it is a matter of procedure. It is actually true, that there is always this question about how parliamentary positions are filled; whether a party has a right to de-whip a Member from a Committee or a position of privilege because all of us who hold any position in the Committee or the House leadership are as a result of numbers. It is a game of numbers. You are actually placed where you are supposed to be and that is the case. 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."
}