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{
    "id": 1055122,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1055122/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 383,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mwea, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Josphat Kabinga",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13441,
        "legal_name": "Josphat Kabinga Wachira",
        "slug": "josphat-kabinga-wachira-2"
    },
    "content": "This Bill is coming at the right time when the future of our country is getting doomed because our young generation, a large part of it, is involved in drugs in one way or another. This is also slowly creeping into the working class. I am hoping that here, in this House, we do not have people who are victims. Sometimes, we discuss and tend to think that we could be having problems even here. The problem of drug trafficking is everywhere. For that reason, this Bill comes in at the right time when we need to relook at our law to see how effective it is. The existing one has a lot of loopholes. Among them, are the lenient penalties that are given to people who are involved in drug trafficking, consumption, possession or production. A number of them were never scared even when they were arrested and taken to court because the value of what they were handling vis-à-vis the sentences they got was incomparable. Furthermore, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, some of them have now developed ways of manipulating institutions. That is why we find some of our drug traffickers, when arrested in other countries, are convicted because the laws in those countries are much stricter and tighter than ours. Therefore, this Bill comes at the right time. It is, therefore, important that we relook at the penalties we are putting on offences that are related to drug trafficking, production or consumption and ensure that people feel it when they are taken to court and jailed. I am particularly happy that drug traffickers and users will find themselves in prison for life and will pay penalties that are three times the value of what they are handling. Therefore, anybody who indulges in that business will be sure to one day be in prison for life. That is really good. One of the areas that the existing Bill did not cover is conspiracy. Conspiracy, whether within the country, people in our country conspiring with others outside or even two groups of people outside this country conspiring to traffic drugs in Kenya, will find themselves on the other side of the law. We will have a law that can be extended to those that conspire to traffic drugs in this country. At the same time, this law provides for a way of dealing with advancements in terms of communication. Our law enforcement institutions can intercept communication that would lead to arrests and such communication can be admissible in a court of law, something that was not there. This will help a lot because all of us are using communication to evade arrests. With the admissibility of communication that has been intercepted, we are likely to get more people arrested. At the same time, our law enforcement officers are greatly involved in some of these offenses. The current law did not provide for charging of law enforcement officers. This law,"
}