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{
    "id": 1122160,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1122160/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 293,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "(Eng.) Hargura Godana and Sen. (Dr.) Lang’at. Finally, our most distinguished and long serving Members of Parliament; Sen. Moses Wetangula and Sen. James Aggrey Orengo. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you will agree with me that having listened to Sen. Orengo quote the Quran this afternoon, he is a man who has a lot of passion on issues touching on constitutionalism, human rights and the rule of law. I think we should induct him in this House as one of the most profound believers in constitutionalism, the rule of law and the protection of human rights. I say the same of Sen. Wetangula. These Senators, whenever they rise to make a contribution, never disappoint. We listened to him this afternoon and he was also very passionate in his contribution. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there are a number of issues that have been brought to the fore by contributions from many Senators that this Committee takes note of. I hope the members of the Judiciary who are watching the Senate proceedings will remember the contribution of Sen. Faki in terms of the timelines that our Judiciary takes to hear and determine cases that involve police officers involved in extrajudicial killings. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, you heard Sen. Faki give an example of what happened in the United States of America (USA), the case that involved the African American George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer. That death happened last year and the conviction took place. Within a period of nine months, the case had been heard, concluded, a conviction passed and the police officer involved sentenced for 23 years. What has come from the contributions is that the Judiciary stands indicted because of the long period that it takes to hear and conclude cases generally. However, what is more worrying is the fact that we do not have many convictions from our courts of law. My Committee takes note of that concern and we will see whether there will be any legislative intervention that can be made to address this issue. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, some of us who are practitioners know that a few years back, we had very few magistrates in the country, but now the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has employed many judicial officers, especially magistrates. Earlier this year, if I can remember well, I saw an advert where the Judiciary was recruiting close to 100 magistrates. With this increased number of judicial officers, cases of this nature should be heard and determined within the shortest time possible. This is a matter that the Judiciary needs to address. The other issue that has come up in the course of debate on this matter is the need for this House to consider bringing back the Committee on Implementation. If you look at the report that we have presented before the Senate, we have given timelines within which certain actions should be taken. Some of these actions are legislative, but there are other administrative and policy interventions that we want the Government to effect. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, unless we have a committee that is in place that can monitor and also take into account that the life of this Senate will come to an end by August, 2022, this report may end up gathering dust somewhere on a shelf. This issue has been brought before us in the course of this debate, on the need to reconsider having an implementation report. It is important and it is something we should explore avenues of implementing."
}