ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joseph Lekuton - Kenyan MP
A teacher, writer and member of the Kenyan parliament, Joseph Lekuton has an inspiring vision for Kenya.

Why you should listen

Born into a Maasai tribe in Northern Kenya, Joseph Lekuton was chosen to attend a missionary boarding school as a child -- sometimes walking 50 miles during vacations to find and rejoin his nomadic family. He won a scholarship to St. Lawrence University, then attended Harvard, and worked as a writer and history teacher in Virginia. He was named a National Geographic Energing Explorer for his work in sharing the culture of Kenya with America, including efforts to share educational resources with nomadic children through the BOMA Fund and Cows for Kids.

In 2006, after a plane crash killed five members of the Kenyan parliament, Lekuton decided to return to Kenya and stand for election to fill the seat in his region. He won a parliamentary seat in the 2006 by-election, and was a member of the winning party in the December 2007 elections -- the results of which continue to be contested throughout Kenya.

More profile about the speaker
Joseph Lekuton | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2007

Joseph Lekuton: A parable for Kenya

约瑟夫.乐库顿讲述一个肯尼亚的寓言

Filmed:
226,268 views

肯尼亚国会议员约瑟夫.乐库顿在介绍完他非凡的教育历程后,讲述了一个昭示非洲如何发展的寓言,不啻于希望之声。
- Kenyan MP
A teacher, writer and member of the Kenyan parliament, Joseph Lekuton has an inspiring vision for Kenya. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:18
My name名称 is Joseph约瑟夫, a Member会员 of Parliament议会 in Kenya肯尼亚.
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我叫约瑟夫,是肯尼亚的一名议员。
00:21
Picture图片 a Maasai马赛 village,
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想像一下,有一天晚上,
00:23
and one evening晚间, government政府 soldiers士兵 come, surround环绕 the village
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在一个马塞村庄里,来了一队政府军,他们围起村子,
00:27
and ask each elder长老 to bring带来 one boy男孩 to school学校.
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要每个家长都送一个男孩去上学。
00:29
That's how I went to school学校 --
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我是这样开始上学的——
00:31
pretty漂亮 much a government政府 guy pointing指点 a gun
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一个兵用枪指着我爸
00:33
and told my father父亲, "You have to make a choice选择."
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说:“你必须得做个决定。”
00:35
So, I walked very comfortably舒服 to this missionary传教士 school学校
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那是个教会学校,一个美国传教士开的,
00:38
that was run by an American美国 missionary传教士,
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当我相当惬意地走进学校时,
00:40
and the first thing the American美国 missionary传教士 gave me was a candy糖果.
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这位传教士递给我的第一件东西居然是一块糖
00:43
I had never in my life ever tasted candy糖果.
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我以前从来都没有尝过糖是什么滋味儿
00:45
So I said to myself, with all these hundred other boys男孩,
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在几百名男孩面前,我心想到,
00:47
this is where I belong属于. (Laughter笑声)
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这儿才是我属于的地方。
00:50
Stayed沉祥福
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(笑声)
00:51
when everybody每个人 else其他 was dropping落下 out.
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别人退学了,我一直留下来。
00:53
My family家庭 moved移动; we're nomads游牧民族.
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我的家庭迁来迁去。我们是游牧人。
00:55
Every一切 time school学校 closed关闭 -- it was a boarding登机 school学校 and I was seven --
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每次学期结束学校放假——那是个寄宿学校,我那时七岁——
00:57
you had to travel旅行 until直到 you find them.
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我就得一路穿行直到找到他们为止。
00:59
Fifty五十 miles英里, 40 miles英里, it doesn't matter.
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50英里,40英里,都不重要。
01:01
You slept in the bush衬套, but you kept不停 going.
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睡在灌木丛里,可是你还是得继续走。
01:03
And I stayed. I don't know why I stayed, but I stayed.
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而我坚持到底。不知道为什么我会坚持,但是我就是待了下去。
01:06
And all of a sudden突然 I passed通过 the national国民 examination检查,
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然后突然间,我通过了全国中考,
01:10
found发现 myself in a very beautiful美丽 high school学校 in Kenya肯尼亚.
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发现自己进入了一个肯尼亚的美丽的高中。
01:13
And I finished high school学校. And just walking步行, I found发现 a man
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我读完了高中。然后我就这么走着,发现有一个人
01:17
who gave me a full充分 scholarship奖学金 to the United联合的 States状态.
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给了我一笔去美国的全额奖学金。
01:20
My mother母亲 still lives生活 in a cow-dung牛粪 hut棚屋,
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我妈妈仍旧住在遍地牛粪的棚屋里,
01:22
none没有 of my brothers兄弟 are going to school学校,
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我的兄弟们没有一个在上学,
01:24
and this man told me, "Here, go."
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而这个人却对我说,“给你,去吧。”
01:26
So I got a scholarship奖学金 to St. Lawrence劳伦斯 University大学, Upstate北部 New York纽约;
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于是我拿着奖学金去了纽约州北部的圣劳伦斯大学。
01:30
finished that. And then after that I went to Harvard哈佛 Graduate毕业 School学校;
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念完本科后,我又去了哈佛读研。
01:35
finished that. And then I worked工作 in DCDC a little bit:
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读完研后,我在华盛顿工作了一阵子。
01:38
I wrote a book for National国民 Geographic地理 and taught history历史, U.S. history历史.
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我给国家地理写了一本书,也教授美国历史的课程。
01:41
And every一切 time, I kept不停 going back home
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我每次回到我的家乡,
01:44
listening to the problems问题 of these people --
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不断的听到人们的问题,
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sick生病 people, people with no water, all this stuff东东 --
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人们患病,人们没有水,所有这种事。
01:48
and every一切 time I go back to America美国, I kept不停 thinking思维 about them.
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而且我每次回到美国,都不断的思考这些问题。
01:51
Then one day, an elder长老 gave me a story故事 and this story故事 went like this:
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后来有一天,一位长辈给我讲了一个故事,是这样说的——
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long time ago, there was a big war战争 between之间 tribes部落.
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很久以前,部落之间发生了一场大战。
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And there was this specific具体 tribe部落 that was really afraid害怕 of this other LuhyaLuhya tribe部落.
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其中有一个部落,特别地害怕另一个卢赫雅部落。
02:03
And every一切 time, they sent发送 scouts侦察兵 out there to make sure no one attacked袭击 them.
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他们每次都会派人去侦察,以确保没有人来袭击自己。
02:06
So one day, the scouts侦察兵 came来了 running赛跑 and told the villagers村民,
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有一天,侦查员跑回来告诉村民们,
02:10
"The enemies敌人 are coming未来. Only half an hour小时 away, they'll他们会 be here."
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说:“敌人们要来了,还只有半个小时,他们就会到这儿。”
02:13
So people scrambled, took their things and ready准备 to go, move移动 out.
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于是人们乱作一团,拿好自己的东西准备撤,
02:17
But there were two men男人:
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但是其中却有这样两个男人,
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one man was blind, one man had no legs -- he was born天生 like that.
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一个是眼盲了,一个天生没有双腿。
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The leader领导 of the chiefs酋长 said, "No, sorry. We can't take you. You'll你会 slow us down.
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酋长说到:“不,对不起,我们不能带你们走,你们会拖大家的后腿。
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We have to flee逃跑 our women妇女 and children孩子, we have to run."
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我们得让我们的妇女和儿童们逃走,我们必须得跑。”
02:30
And they were left behind背后, waiting等候 to die.
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于是他俩被留下等死。
02:33
But these two people worked工作 something out.
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但是这两个人却想了一个办法。
02:36
The blind man said, "Look, I'm a very strong强大 man but I can't see."
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眼盲的男人说:“喏,我是个很强壮的人,但是我看不见东西。”
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The man with no legs says, "I can see as far as the end结束 of the world世界,
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没有双腿的人说道:“我能看见远至世界的尽处,
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but I can't save保存 myself from a cat, or whatever随你 animals动物."
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但是我却敌不过任何动物,乃至一只猫。”
02:47
So the blind man went down on his knees膝盖, down like this,
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于是盲人蹲了下来,就像这样,
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and told the man with no legs to go over his back, and stood站在 up.
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他告诉无腿的人骑到自己背上,然后站了起来。
02:54
The man on top最佳 can see, the blind man can walk步行.
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骑在上面的人能看,而盲人能走。
02:57
And these guys took off, followed其次 the footsteps步伐 of the villagers村民
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这俩人便沿着村民们留下的脚印一路出发了,
03:00
until直到 they found发现 and passed通过 them.
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直到他们赶上了其他人,并且还超越了他们。
03:05
So, this was told to me in a setup建立 of elders长老.
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我听着故事的时候,周围还有其他长辈们。
03:09
And it's a really poor较差的 area. I represent代表 Northern北方 Kenya肯尼亚:
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那是个相当贫困的地方,我指的是肯尼亚北部——
03:12
the most nomadic游牧, remote远程 areas you can even find.
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你能找得到的,最偏远最流浪的地方。
03:16
And that man told me, "So, here you are.
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讲故事的人对我说:“你在美国受过良好的教育,
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You've got a good education教育 from America美国,
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也在那儿过着优越的生活,
03:20
you have a good life in America美国; what are you going to do for us?
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现在你来我们这儿,你能为我们做些什么呢?
03:25
We want you to be our eyes眼睛, we'll give you the legs.
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我们希望你当我们的眼睛,我们就做你的腿。
03:28
We'll walk步行 you, you lead us."
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你领着我们大家,我们举着你走。”
03:30
So the opportunity机会 came来了, and I was always thinking思维 about that:
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于是机遇就这么来了,我总是在思索,
03:33
"what can I do to help my people?
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为了帮助我的人民,我能做些什么?
03:35
Every一切 time you go to an area where for 43 years年份 of independence独立,
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每当你来到这个43年前就已经独立的国家,
03:38
we still don't have basic基本 health健康 facilities设备.
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(却发现)我们仍然还是没有基本卫生设施。
03:41
A man has to be transported in a wheelbarrow独轮车
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一个病人得用手推车送去
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20, 30 kilometers公里 for a hospital醫院. No clean清洁 drinking water.
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20、30公里外的医院就诊。(也)没有干净的饮用水。
03:45
So I said, "I'm going to dedicate奉献 myself.
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于是我说,“我要献一份力,
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I'm leaving离开 America美国. I'm going to run for office办公室."
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我要离开美国。我要回去参加竞选。”
03:51
So last July七月 ... I moved移动 from America美国 in June六月, ran in July七月 election选举 and won韩元.
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因此去年,我六月里离开的美国,在七月参加竞选并当选。
03:59
And I came来了 for them, and that's my goal目标.
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我是为他们才来,这是我的目标。
04:03
And right now I have in place地点, for the last nine months个月,
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到如今,我在这位子上已有九个月了,
04:06
a plan计划 that in five years年份, every一切 nomad游牧 will have clean清洁 drinking water.
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(我)计划五年内,让每个游牧人都能用喝上干净的饮用水。
04:14
We're building建造 dispensaries药房 across横过 that constituency选民.
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我们会在选区里建立诊所。
04:17
I'm asking my friends朋友 from America美国 to help
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我向我的美国朋友们寻求帮忙
04:19
with bringing使 nurses护士 or doctors医生 to help us out.
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带来护士和医生们帮助大家摆脱困难。
04:22
I'm trying to improve提高 infrastructure基础设施.
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我尝试改善基础设施。
04:25
I'm using运用 the knowledge知识 I received收到 from the United联合的 States状态
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我应用从美国以及从我自己社区中学到的知识
04:27
and from my community社区 to move移动 them forward前锋.
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来促进实施。
04:30
I'm trying to develop发展 homegrown自产自销 solutions解决方案 to our issues问题
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对于大家面临的问题,我试图制定出自己的解决方案。
04:34
because we realize实现 that people from outside can come and help us,
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因为我们意识到外面的人能过来帮助我们,
04:37
but if we don't help ourselves我们自己, there's nothing we can do.
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但是如果我们连自己都不帮自己的话,那我们真就没什么指望了。
04:40
So my plan计划 right now as I continue继续 with introducing引入 students学生们 to different不同 fields领域 --
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所以我现在的计划就是,随着我继续引进各个领域的学生们——
04:45
some become成为 doctors医生, some lawyers律师 --
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其中有一些会成为医生,一些会是律师——
04:47
we want to produce生产 a comprehensive全面 group of people, students学生们,
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我们想建立一个全面综合的群体,
04:49
who can come back and help us see a community社区 grow增长
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这些学生们会回来帮助大家
04:52
that is in the middle中间 of a huge巨大 economic经济 recession不景气.
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见证经济大衰退中一个社会的成长。
04:56
So as I continue继续 to be a Member会员 of Parliament议会
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因此,当我还是议会议员,
04:59
and as I continue继续 listening to all of you talking about botany植物学,
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当我不断的听你们谈论着植物学,
05:02
talking about health健康, talking about democracy民主, talking about new inventions发明,
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谈论健康,谈论民主,谈论新发明,
05:05
I'm hoping希望 that one day in my own拥有 little community社区 --
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我就希望能有一天,在我自己的社区里——
05:08
which哪一个 is 26,000 square广场 kilometers公里,
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它占地两万六千平方公里,
05:10
maybe five times the size尺寸 of Rhode罗德岛 Island -- with no roads道路,
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大约相当于五个罗德岛的面积,还没有公路——
05:14
we'll be able能够 to become成为 a model模型 to help others其他 develop发展.
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我们能成为帮助别人发展的模范。
05:18
Thank you very much. (Applause掌声)
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非常感谢!
Translated by Wei Lu
Reviewed by Wang Qian

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joseph Lekuton - Kenyan MP
A teacher, writer and member of the Kenyan parliament, Joseph Lekuton has an inspiring vision for Kenya.

Why you should listen

Born into a Maasai tribe in Northern Kenya, Joseph Lekuton was chosen to attend a missionary boarding school as a child -- sometimes walking 50 miles during vacations to find and rejoin his nomadic family. He won a scholarship to St. Lawrence University, then attended Harvard, and worked as a writer and history teacher in Virginia. He was named a National Geographic Energing Explorer for his work in sharing the culture of Kenya with America, including efforts to share educational resources with nomadic children through the BOMA Fund and Cows for Kids.

In 2006, after a plane crash killed five members of the Kenyan parliament, Lekuton decided to return to Kenya and stand for election to fill the seat in his region. He won a parliamentary seat in the 2006 by-election, and was a member of the winning party in the December 2007 elections -- the results of which continue to be contested throughout Kenya.

More profile about the speaker
Joseph Lekuton | Speaker | TED.com