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{
    "id": 1009034,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1009034/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 79,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13188,
        "legal_name": "Getrude Musuruve Inimah",
        "slug": "getrude-musuruve-inimah"
    },
    "content": "children. Children are our future generation and we must ensure they are protected, nurtured and raised in a manner that guarantees a secure future. Madam Deputy Speaker, there is also the plight of children who are sexually abused by their caregivers, relatives and people known to them or otherwise. Such children go through a lot of psychological trauma and mental anguish. They rarely find people who understand them with a view to helping them overcome the trauma. Children who have been abandoned by their parents, too, go through mental anguish. Children who are perpetually battered by their caregivers eventually end up suffering from low self- esteem. Such children rarely find a fully-fledged sustainable recourse that would help them get back to normal lives and live objectively. Most of these children are rushed away from the society and their families to rescue centers. Madam Deputy Speaker, the root cause of child abuse, neglect and violation of children’s rights may effectively be addressed from the family or societal level. Every human being is a social being and socialization begins from the family level. The ills in families and society need to be addressed to ensure that the environment is conducive for child nurturing, growth and development. Children need to be encouraged to frequently engage in open communication with all significant people in their lives. Some children who fall victims to abuse could probably be introverts and those who keep too much information to themselves. Moreover, perpetrators of child abuse probably take advantage of their dominance in their victims’ lives. Madam Deputy Speaker, Kenya is among the member states that signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention has 54 Articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children the world over are entitled to. These rights are enshrined in Article 2 and 53 (1) (a-f) of the Constitution of Kenya. To this end, I would like to appeal to you to consider tasking the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, to look into matters such as the abductions or kidnappings that I have outlined above, with a view to ensuring that the perpetrators of such heinous acts are brought to book and that justice is served, especially to the two families whose children’s bodies were found in an accident-wrecked car parked at the Athi River Police Station. Madam Deputy Speaker, I conclude by calling upon all the relevant organs in the society to take up the responsibility of ensuring protection of children’s rights. Children are a gift from God and must be appreciated, groomed and nurtured for generational prosperity. I further call upon all Kenyans to endeavour to defend Article 53 of the Constitution as well as the Children’s Act (Cap. 586 of the Laws of Kenya), which spell out the rights of the child. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity."
}