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{
"id": 1523032,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523032/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ikolomani, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Bernard Shinali",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I want to begin by congratulating my colleague, Hon. Peter Masara, for coming up with this Bill to fill the gap that the National Police Service Commission Bill has not looked at. You and I are not new to this problem because we both served in the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs in the last Parliament. First, I want to look at the training of police officers. The training of police officers overlooks this area, concentrating on defence, attack, and handling of ammunition. This is the case and yet after that activity or after their work, this becomes a critical area that should be looked into. This Bill is long overdue. It should have been enacted like yesterday. The mental wellness of any person, including us in Parliament, is important especially police officers who are involved in duties that sometimes turn violent, traumatising, and maybe forceful, in a way. The psycho-social wellness is important and should be provided for. Therefore, it can be implemented alongside the employment of police officers, so long as the law is in place to allow them to practise alongside. In developed countries, as cited by my colleague, it is a mandatory department because it enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of working in the police force. Hon. Temporary Speaker, the circumstances and environment in which police officers operate are wanting. Before one is deployed to their workstation, they live in houses provided to them. The living conditions are deplorable. This affects their mind set. This is an issue that needs to be looked into by first preparing the mindset of the recruits. When recruits leave Kiganjo Police Training College after work training, they do not expect what they experience in the police quarters. Once they arrive there, they are already disturbed. They are made to share one house with another family, a practice not allowed by some of our traditions and the communities we come from. This requires mental wellness and psychological advice. To conclude, this Bill is important and very wide. I can contribute for a long time because I have a first-hand experience. I plead with this House and Members to pass this Bill with amendments to ensure that these police officers who have gone back to school are rewarded. Most were not lucky enough to continue with their education after Form Four due to financial constraints but got employed as police officers and now can take up loans to educate themselves. Also, let us give a chance to those who have experience in the police force and have seen the need and passion to help their former colleagues be reappointed to the Commission just like any other institution, otherwise it will amount to discrimination. We have to call it as is. So, as I applaud my friend, Hon. Peter Masara, for coming up with this Bill, he has also explained to us that it is not easy to visit 20 counties, but he has gone to 45 counties and he has seen it all. He has first-hand information. Some of us might talk about it, but we have not seen it first-hand. We support Hon. Masara because we want a better police force. We will achieve that by passing this Bill. 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."
},
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"id": 1523033,
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"text_counter": 477,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ikolomani, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Bernard Shinali",
"speaker": null,
"content": "I beg to second."
},
{
"id": 1523034,
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"text_counter": 478,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Question proposed)"
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"id": 1523035,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523035/?format=api",
"text_counter": 479,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
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"content": " Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo."
},
{
"id": 1523036,
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"text_counter": 480,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Narok West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Bill. At the outset, I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to Hon. Masara for burning the midnight oil, traversing the whole country and researching intensively to bring this piece of legislation to being. Hon. Masara and I serve in the same Committee. The Member convinced us and majority of the stakeholders who were involved in the drafting of the Bill of its importance. I applaud the commitment and passion he demonstrated. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I appreciate the Members of the Committee to whom this Bill was referred to for a job well done, and for their efforts to ensure that the Bill progressed this far. The Bill is long overdue. One of its objectives is to amend the National Police Service Commission Act in Section 10 to promote mental wellness and establish psychosocial support facilities within our counties. The intention of the drafter of the Bill was that we do it at the lower levels, even sub-counties. The Committee concurred with him so that we can start small and grow big. We will start at the county level, where we will have the headquarters and cascade it down. The Bill has come at such a time when all of us can appreciate the mental trauma that our police officers go through due to the nature of their work. It is overwhelming and at times they get mental breakdown. The Bill will come in handy to help them. We have heard of cases of attempted suicide or suicide by police officers. Unfortunately, even junior officers have done the unthinkable by killing their seniors because of mental breakdown. We know the kind of hardships and horrors that officers go through. The Bill will be of critical help to them. I appreciate that the Committee saw it fit that we extend these crucial services, not just to officers but also to their families and the non-uniform civilian staff who work in these institutions. I support the Bill and call upon this honourable House to support it so that we give justice to our officers."
},
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"id": 1523037,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523037/?format=api",
"text_counter": 481,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Narok West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "We know there was a Maraga Task Force Report that was put up by His Excellency the President immediately he was sworn in. One of the key recommendations in the report was the welfare of police officers to include mental well-being and psychosocial support facilities, counselling, increment of wages, housing facilities and uniform. As the Chairperson, we really appreciate the tremendous steps and progress towards the same. As we speak, there was an increment of wages to our police officers in the previous Budget. The BPS we recently went through has an increment aimed at continuously improving the welfare of our police officers. This includes their housing. There is a discussion toward that direction and more is yet to come."
},
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"id": 1523038,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523038/?format=api",
"text_counter": 482,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Narok West, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Without much ado, I strongly support the Bill. It is going to help our police officers in a big way. We have also been in conversation with the National Police Service Commission that is already in anticipation of this kind of Bill. As we speak, there is a policy and regulation set to help operationalise the Bill when it comes into being so that these things take effect immediately in a majority of regions. I support the Bill and call upon this House to do the same. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker."
},
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"id": 1523039,
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"text_counter": 483,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Peter Kaluma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": {
"id": 1565,
"legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
"slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
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"content": " Thank you, Chairperson. Hon. Geoffrey Mulanya."
},
{
"id": 1523040,
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"text_counter": 484,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Nambale, Independent",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Geoffrey Mulanya",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you for giving me the opportunity to also add my voice to this Bill. This is one of the Bills that the country has been waiting for a very long time. Instead of having too many taskforces every time we have issues 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": 1523041,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1523041/?format=api",
"text_counter": 485,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Nambale, Independent",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Geoffrey Mulanya",
"speaker": null,
"content": "regarding the welfare and wellness of the police, this is the right procedure where we have regulations to govern the welfare of police officers. In particular, I support the introduction of Section 12(a)(f). It tries to streamline the procedures of orderly room proceedings, what we call disciplinary proceedings, when there is an issue affecting a police officer. Some of us who are practising advocates get proceedings arising from orderly room proceedings. We note that the procedures are in most cases totally flawed. This impacts the rights of a particular police officer where there is no procedural fairness allowing them to defend themselves and have a fair hearing on the allegations against them. We know that a majority of the living environments of police officers around police stations are crowded. Although they have families, you will find police officers living with their families in one house. Maybe three or four colleagues live together, which denies them the right to privacy."
}
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