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{
    "id": 107323,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/107323/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 319,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 185,
        "legal_name": "Danson Buya Mungatana",
        "slug": "danson-mungatana"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to also make my little contribution to the Witness Protection (Amendment) Bill. First of all, I want to say that I support the Bill but express my deep disappointment with the Attorney-General. When he was moving this debate, I listened very carefully. He said that this Bill was assented to by His Excellency the President on 30th December, 2006. When he was moving the main Bill in 2006, I was here, and I lauded him for moving it. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is an indictment on the Office of the Attorney-General for them to barely, four years later, bring the same Bill to this House with the reason that operationally, it became difficult to make it work. We were here praising the establishment of the Witness Protection Fund then and, four years later, we are being told that it was operationally impossible to make it work. I think we need to use the time of Parliament in a more effective manner. However, the reason as to why I would want to support this Amendment Bill is the whole principle of witness protection. Many times, when we have talked about the judicial and security systems, we have gone an extra length to protect what you would call “security agents”. Here, my colleagues have raised the issue of victims, and the same fate befalls witnesses. Witnesses have not been traditionally given the necessary protection they require. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my colleagues preceding me have talked clearly about what organised crime, and war time crime can do. I want to add what tribally-motivated crimes can do. A lot of witnesses disappear. A lot of people suffer. So, we have to do everything within our power to make sure that, at least, we do something in this Parliament. I want to join my colleagues who spoke before me to urge the House to pass this amendment to make the Witness Protection Act stronger, and make it work, because we are not the first country that is doing this. Canada has a very effective system of witness protection, which is basically modelled under the United States of America Federal Witness Protection Programme. New Zealand has a very effective system, and there is nothing wrong with us picking some aspects from those models. Taiwan and Switzerland have effective systems. I want to urge this House that in passing this Amendment Bill through the Second Stage, without much controversy, we will not be making a mistake. We will be doing something that can affect ourselves, our families and the people we represent here in a very real manner. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, when you look at the history of how witness protection programmes started – I want to look at the USA system – you will realise that it was set up particularly in the 1960s, when one Gerald Shoe, who was then heading the Organised Crime and Racketeering Section of the US Department of Justice, saw the need for protecting witnesses."
}