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{
    "id": 1124397,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1124397/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 485,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kabuchai, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Majimbo Kalasinga",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1641,
        "legal_name": "James Lusweti Mukwe",
        "slug": "james-lusweti-mukwe"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this time to contribute to this very important Bill. From the onset, I stand to oppose the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.1 of 2020). I oppose with serious reasons. First, you cannot pretend to want to build a house by knocking off its pillars. The strength of the house is how many pillars you increase every day. We could not have reached the gains that we have attained in Kenya without the National Gender and Equality Commission, yet want to bring it down to amalgamate it. The rise in the reported cases of gender-based violence in this country cannot even allow us to think of only having two. In fact, we should borrow a leaf from the way we amalgamated the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), where we killed the Kenya Sugar Authority and others as we formed the AFA. We got so many problems and as I speak, the Sugar Board has found itself coming out of it. If we want to amalgamate, we are heading to where we headed with AFA. Secondly, you cannot reduce the issues of gender to a desk in a ministry, because it is going to be under the Ministry in charge of Devolution. It will just be a simple desk with neither personnel nor links and roots to the ground. Every morning, we come across gender-based violence issues as leaders on the ground. You cannot address more than 10 issues and miss a matter on gender-based violence from them. I oppose and urge that we find ways of how we can increase and even have a further section that deals with gender-based violence in schools and colleges involving children. This will bring up the pillars that will strengthen human rights, but not by trying to knock off a very important department. I agree with most Members that this Bill should be opposed in totality. In fact, as we look at the gender issue, you find that many cases that reach the areas of getting solutions like police stations and others are negotiated. They are told to go and negotiate. If it is an issue of family abuse, they are told to go and talk to their partners. Some of the people are told to go and negotiate, and some of the cases do not even get reported. The National Gender and Equality Commission should be strengthened and given more powers through the budget, to solve gender issues in Kenya. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I oppose. Thank you. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}