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{
    "id": 1219663,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1219663/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 14,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Speaker",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Members, I have two Petitions to convey to the House. The first Petition is regarding enactment of legislation to criminalise and prescribe penalties for the crime of enforced disappearance. Hon. Members, Article 119 of the Constitution accords any person the right to petition Parliament to consider any matter within its authority. Further, Standing Order 225(2) (b) requires the Speaker to report to the House any Petition other than those presented by a Member. In this regard, I wish to report to the House that my office has received a Petition from one Dr Annette Mbogo, the Executive Director of Kituo cha Sheria Legal Advice Centre calling for enactment of legislation to criminalise and prescribe penalties for the crime of enforced disappearance. The petitioner claims that the organisation has worked closely with victims of cases of extra-judicial killings and disappearances in the country since the year 2007 and documented a total of 1,201 killings and 272 enforced disappearances with most of the incidences having occurred in the hands of the police and other security agencies. The petitioner further claims that in 2021, Kenya reported approximately 43 cases of disappearance of persons who were last seen in police custody or who were abducted by persons believed to be police officers. The petitioner highlights the northern and coast regions as being hotspots for such incidences, especially because of counter terrorism operations and cites other instances including the retrieving of at least 20 bodies from River Yala. The petitioner is concerned that there is no effective legal remedy available to hold suspects accountable for forcibly disappearing victims whose whereabouts remain unknown or denied. Efforts to have the matter addressed, through filing of a constitutional petition seeking the Attorney-General to request the President to form a judicial commission of inquiry to look into the rampant cases of enforced disappearances, have not been fruitful. Hon. Members, the petitioner, therefore, prays that the National Assembly enacts legislative provisions that will expressly criminalise and prescribe penalties for the crime of enforced disappearance. Having established that the matter raised in the Petition is well within the authority of this House; and further, that the matters raised in this Petition are not pending before any court 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."
}