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{
    "id": 101796,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/101796/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 284,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Midiwo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 184,
        "legal_name": "Washington Jakoyo Midiwo",
        "slug": "jakoyo-midiwo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the proposed Bill. First of all, I would like to say that I have been very impressed by the Police Force of late. Whatever it is they are doing, we need to give them the right tools and the right facilitation so that we keep hearing that criminals are apprehended when heinous crimes occur. The gangs which are kidnapping and raping Kenyans--- I saw scenarios where people paid ransom, but the kidnappers still raped and killed them. Kenyans are living in fear. For those of us who have daughters, you do not know what will happen to them. For those of us who have children, you do not know what will happen to them because there is a section of the society which has decided to terrorise the majority. I, therefore, welcome this Bill. I want to plead with the Minister who has moved this Bill that it should be wholesome. We could use this opportunity to do a bit more. When we say that a penalty for commission of an offence is for a period not more than 14 years, I do not think we are curing crime. In fact, we are creating an opportunity for corruption, given that latitude. We have a scenario where Kenyans know their neighbours who are criminals but cannot go to jail because of the laws that we make that say, not more than so many years. I recommend to the Minister that at the Committee Stage any person who commits a crime such as kidnapping or gang raping should go for life imprisonment without option of fine or leaving prison. That is the way I know they end such crimes world over. If there is really fear of somebody being jailed or hanged--- There is no reason for us to pamper these people in the society. We need to get the maximum jail term possible for certain crimes in this country. Right now the discretion is too much on the side of the Judiciary. It is our opportunity, as Parliament, to legislate once and for all, against such crimes. There are some things we must do and are related to the current forms of crime. We passed a Motion in this House sometime last year which said that every person with a phone must register the SIM-card. The Government ought to know who owns that phone. It is too much for the police to keep tracing or chase these people. If you go to the United Arab Emirates, you will realise that it takes you very many hours to apply for a phone and before the phone line is activated. That is meant to curb crime. So, you cannot use a phone to intimidate somebody by saying, “I have your son, bring me Kshs 1 million or else---” An Asian friend of mine was captured in Thika and they stayed with him for almost 24 hours. The family had to raise Kshs3million. That kind of crime can be stopped immediately by implementing the Motion that this House passed. I understand the phone companies have turned into cartels because they smell money but we cannot live under that kind of regime. We must know who owns what telephone line. After all, if you do not want to be known, you have no business being on public phone book. So, the mobile phones are fueling these crimes in such large proportions that we need to do something about it."
}