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{
    "id": 1049884,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1049884/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 90,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Were",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13183,
        "legal_name": "Petronila Were Lokorio",
        "slug": "petronila-were-lokorio"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise, pursuant to Standing Order No. 47(1), to make a statement on an issue of general topical concern namely, the abuse of children under the care of foreign missionaries. First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ms. Mercy Chebet Ruto, for her brave and laudable actions, in ensuring justice for the children in the Dow Family Children‟s Home in Bomet County. Mr. Gregory Hayes Dow was finally convicted and sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison for abusing underage girls while running the Dow Family Children‟s Home in Boito, Bomet County between October, 2013 and September, 2017. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when the community in Bomet County discovered the heinous acts that were happening in the children‟s home, they alerted the Kenyan authorities but, due to corruption, Mr. Dow managed to evade justice by fleeing the country back to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, where he is from. Ms. Ruto, who happened to be a neighbor to Dow in Lancaster and also hails from Bomet County refused to allow Dow‟s crimes to go unpunished. Despite the slow bureaucracy of America‟s justice system, she dauntlessly continued to push for justice until Mr. Dow was finally convicted of his sex crimes committed in Kenya and ordered to pay USD16,000 in restitution to the victims. It is my sincere wish that the Government will recognize and accordingly honor the intrepid efforts of Ms. Ruto especially the awards that are normally given to Kenyans as mashujaa . Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is very heartbreaking that this is not an isolated case. Abuse of children by foreign missionaries has become the norm in Kenya. There was the case of Mr. Matthew Durham from Oklahoma who was sentenced to 40 years in prison by a US federal court for molesting four children at Upendo Children‟s Home in Juja, Kiambu County. There was also the case of Fr. Renata Kizito Sesana who allegedly molested boys under his care, but the charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence. The pervasion of these cases and the evasion of justice within Kenyan soil are appalling. The Government cannot continue to allow the innocence of our vulnerable 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."
}