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{
    "id": 722586,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/722586/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 287,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Zani",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13119,
        "legal_name": "Agnes Zani",
        "slug": "agnes-zani"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I rise to second. First, let me start by reiterating matters security have really risen in terms of prominence especially now as we move into the elections period because every time there is some sort of competition then personal interest always comes in. Secondly, matters of security have also escalated because of the drought situation. The reason why I am saying that is that, in counties such as Marsabit, Moyale and Laikipia, we are having shortage of resources especially of pastures because of the drought. As a result of this, cattle rustling has become prominent. The sort of cattle rustling we are seeing now is not the cattle rustling that used to exist before. It used to be the cattle rustling that was a cultural issue where people used to come in from one community, they take cattle and then another community comes and take that cattle and they return it. It is not the sort of cattle rustling that we are seeing today. This is not to worry because now we find cattle rustling which is involving the usage of weapons, killing of people and we are leaving the cultural rustling as we know it. In the Joint Committee on Cohesion and Equal Opportunity where I am a Member, we have tried to address this issue from a legal perspective. We have tried to amend the criminal act so that at the end of the day cattle rustling is a criminal act. However, as you know with issues legislation sometimes it becomes difficult. For example, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was legislated on, but when it comes to the actual action, there is a problem. The highlight of this problem was noted in the three counties where this Committee visited specifically in Mandera, Laikipia and Kapedo, overscale to the other counties. In fact, I would not be surprised if this Committee also still has initiatives to go to the various counties to be able to address this problem. One of the issues that have caused a lot of escalation in this is the issue of small arms which are rampant and everybody has this. Many times, people have been asked to surrender these firearms. At times, they surrender but many times, they do not and then it becomes a security issue. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, another issue is that sometimes the security that is deployed in these areas is scarce. If you are looking at the number and the response in terms of being able to respond to a call for help, it becomes limited and even dangerous. Even those security personnel who are expected to go and address the issue are not able to address because they are worried for their own security. So, you find instances of County Commissioners who have been sent to Counties like Laikipia and Samburu; they do not stay there for a long time. Their average period for staying in a particular county The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}