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{
    "id": 994470,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/994470/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 106,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Mbadi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": "time that independent Members of Parliament were going to be aligned either to Jubilee or to the NASA side. Moreover, I can give an example of the Member of Parliament we famously call \"Jicho Pevu\", who decided to align himself to the Jubilee Party and also Hon. Chepkut. Hon. Masara, Hon. Shakeel Shabbir and Charles Kilonzo aligned themselves to the NASA Coalition. Therefore, we assign Members to committees, and the main reason why this provision of the Standing Order is here, is because we expect our Members to protect the interest of political parties in terms of policies and manifestos in committees. Therefore, in the Departmental Committee on Health, for example, which Hon. Ochieng' has referred to, we assigned an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Member called Hon. Christopher Karan, who was then the Member for Ugenya. When he lost his seat to Ochieng', we agreed to allow Ochieng’ to continue sitting in that Committee courtesy of a slot that was given to NASA and by extension to ODM. Therefore, Hon. Speaker, Hon. Ochieng' cannot have his cake and eat it at the same time. He has to declare whether he is not interested in aligning himself to NASA, in which case he must just do the honourable thing of surrendering our committee slot which was assigned to NASA and then the House, maybe, can collectively consider - through the Selection Committee which is chaired by the Leader of Majority and where I sit - and agree on how to deal with Members who kind of appear like nomads or people who do not really have parties in which to sit. Therefore, Hon. Speaker, as I conclude, this position that Ochieng' is sitting in the Departmental Committee on Health is a position that we magnanimously allowed him to occupy and that magnanimity can only continue in so far as the person who is magnanimous wishes to be magnanimous. It is something you cannot force."
}