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{
    "id": 1092644,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1092644/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 20,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "remember seeing him once saying in Mombasa: “What is the problem? Even when you were young, people used to be arrested and it would take two to three days.” Our colleagues who serve in the JLAC Committee, you have a duty to the country to clean up those flaws. The many things that are being used by the Executive to clamp down on the rights of various citizens so that a criminal justice system is used to serve the only purpose for which it was intended which is to ensure that if you are guilty, you go to jail. If you are innocent, you walk free. Nothing else in between. We see this practice being inculcated slowly. Unfortunately, even the Judiciary has bought into this silly game. I have seen magistrates of late begin to set very exorbitant bail terms, Kshs10 million, Kshs20 million, Kshs100 million yet to the best of my understanding, world over, bail is only meant to guarantee your appearance in court. It has nothing to do with whether you are innocent or guilty. Nowadays when you go to court, you will hear them say: “because of the amount of money involved here---” How have you reached to the case yet the point is about whether you are innocent or guilty? Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I challenge our colleagues who serve in JLAC Committee to look into this Petition and tell petitioner about the place where we want our country to go back to. However, look into some of these practices that are slowly creeping back to our society. We can go ahead and set up a law that states the procedure and the minimum amount that can be set as bail. I have heard some magistrates say that it is not their duty to do that. A few of our colleagues represent their clients in court. I once heard a magistrate telling some of them that they are the lawmakers who should make the bail limits clear in law for it not to punish people. Otherwise, bail can be used to clamp down on people’s rights yet our present and past colleagues paid for this freedom using their sweat and blood. We should not throw away this Petition. Instead, it should act as a reminder that we ought to have done this for us not to have such petitions."
}