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{
"id": 1463742,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1463742/?format=api",
"text_counter": 77,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Masinga, Independent",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Joshua Mwalyo",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. One of the ten Commandments in the Bible says: ‘‘Thou shall not kill.’’ Therefore, killing yourself is an offence and a sin. We should not set an example. People will say Parliament has already passed that Petition that allows them to kill themselves. Many of them will commit suicide if we pass this Petition. I oppose."
},
{
"id": 1463743,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1463743/?format=api",
"text_counter": 78,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Member for Kirinyaga."
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{
"id": 1463744,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1463744/?format=api",
"text_counter": 79,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Kirinyaga County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Njeri Maina",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. We miss the point when we do not understand where the Petition is coming from. We passed a robust law on mental health in the last Parliament. Unfortunately, we have not had the capacity to fully implement the same. There is a joke that goes around that in heaven, there is no beer. I do not think any person of sane mind would want to take away his life. There are medical data that claim that for a long time, mental illness in the African society has not been addressed adequately. Even in the village, we used to say, ‘‘ Yule mwendawazimu .’’ We do not understand that in the 21st century, it is a disease like any other. It is a condition that must be addressed medically. These people undergo clinical testing. They see therapists, and it is very expensive to see one in this country. A resident in Kirinyaga County cannot afford Ksh3,000 per session of one hour to see a therapist. Mental health must be addressed adequately by the 13th Parliament. The Ministry of Health must also fund county governments to address issues of mental health adequately. We are not sanctioning people to take away their lives. We are saying these people need help. Let us come up with solutions to help them so that they live longer until the Lord decides otherwise. Let us address the concerns of mental health without bringing in religion or saying that this House or that petition would sanction people taking away their lives. Thank you, Hon. Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1463745,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1463745/?format=api",
"text_counter": 80,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Ochanda."
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{
"id": 1463746,
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"text_counter": 81,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Speaker, I know Prof. Lukoye. He has been into this for a while. Committing suicide is never instant. There is a process before it. Many things may have happened before one decides to take his or her life. However, there are situations where we look at extreme anger. Somebody who is extremely angered by whatever and decides he or she cannot face this anymore and commits suicide needs to be looked at. In my view, what the Petition ought to have looked at is whether we can subject issues of suicide to processes before one commits suicide. That way, it will make a lot of sense. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1463747,
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"text_counter": 82,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Bondo, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gideon Ochanda",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Life is important. It is not good for one to take away his or her life. Many suicide cases are followed by many other incidents, activities and processes that by the end of the day, people conclude that they do not want to face them anymore, and hence, the option to commit suicide. We need to have breaks in between so that before we end up saying that you attempted to commit suicide, and it is looked at in isolation, the Petition wants to look at it in terms of a process. What leads you to that kind of a situation where you want to commit suicide? Thank you, Hon. Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1463748,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1463748/?format=api",
"text_counter": 83,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Member for Tarbaj. Normally, you do not sit around here."
},
{
"id": 1463749,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1463749/?format=api",
"text_counter": 84,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tarbaj, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Hussein Abdi",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I am always on that other end. I wish to add my voice to this Petition. There are many factors that can lead one to commit suicide. And if people overcome the temptation to commit suicide, we should sympathise with them and not punish them for attempting to commit suicide because we do not know what has led them to that. They should be sympathised with, given enough counselling and support, but not punished. Thank you, Hon. Speaker."
},
{
"id": 1463750,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1463750/?format=api",
"text_counter": 85,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Martin."
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{
"id": 1463751,
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"text_counter": 86,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ndhiwa, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Martin Owino",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. There is no data or information that indicates that criminalising suicidal attempts has improved or reduced suicidal attempts. Sometimes, we use money or funds in the wrong interventions. Instead of taking that person to prison and leaving his or her entire household in abject poverty, it is improving the suicidal ideation more which can result in the attempt, more than if you leave this person in the household, and have some measures. I hope my Chairperson is listening. Instead of Mathare Mental Hospital, we should decentralise mental services to primary healthcare so that they can be addressed at the household and also dispensaries and health centres. Speaking the truth, suicidal ideation, attempts and some completion is an epidemic. People are not surviving. It is not like what Hon. Sunkuli says that they do not want to live. They see that they cannot live, and that is why they take away their lives. I support the Petition. We should decentralise mental health to primary healthcare."
}
]
}