‘Before I was, God knew me’ says Wakoli on abortion

Lands assistant minister Bifwoli Wakoli (above) cited his theological studies at a Catholic seminary as evidence that “before I was, God knew me and knew my name and knew I would live.” Photo/FILE

Defence assistant minister David Musila (Mwingi North, ODM-K) supported the draft and said he would move to amend it to bar disciplined forces from picketing and calling strikes.

He backed devolution, saying some areas had been marginalised. “Resources have, since time immemorial, been allocated in a skewed manner. If you visit some of these areas, you will think that you are not in this country,” he said.

Lands assistant minister Bifwoli Wakoli (Bumula, Ford Kenya) asked the MPs not to pass the draft without amending “some obvious flaws”.

“I will only support this document with amendments,” said Mr Wakoli. “The fact that Kenyans have been yearning for a new constitution should not mean that we give them a bad one like the one before us. We need to make amendments.”

He added: “Just because PNU and ODM have agreed and are telling you that Kenyans want this document, does not mean that you turn a blind eye to the flaws in this document. The Bumula MP said the clause seeking to have “life begin at conception” was erroneous.

Indiscipline

He cited his theological studies at a Catholic seminary between 1962 and 1975 as evidence that “before I was, God knew me and knew my name and knew I would live.”

“How then do you suppose that life begins after two people go to bed, it doesn’t work that way. This (clause) has to be deleted,” said the assistant minister.

The MP, a teacher by profession, argued that the clause prohibiting forced labour was likely to lead to indiscipline in schools, if the children insist that their rights were being violated. He also launched into the controversy surrounding the debate on the minimum and maximum acreage an individual can have, saying:

“If you enact a law saying the minimum acreage is two acres, and the maximum is 10,000 acres, how then do I get the minimum acreage if I have none? And how do you get people with say, 100,000 acres to relinquish the rest willingly? Isn’t this a recipe for chaos?” asked Mr Wakoli.

There was another rush among MPs to contribute, with calls to the deputy Speaker to consider both sides of the House. But Mr Farah Maalim told the protesting MPs that each of the lawmakers had constituents and held equal rights in the House.

Those protesting loudly were mainly from the backbench, and when Mr Wakoli concluded, Higher Education minister Sally Kosgei (Aldai, ODM), had crossed the floor, and contributed from the opposition side (the left side of the Speaker).