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{
    "id": 123397,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/123397/?format=api",
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    "content": "ordinary crimes that were committed in this country. Those were crimes that were threatening the very fabric of the state that we know as Kenya. Therefore, it is not the failure as such of the Attorney-General. It was the failure of the law that existed at that time that would not be able to address the issues that were in existence. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that is why, right now, we need to pass this statute of the Special Tribunal that will deal with those kind of crimes that were threatening the existence of the nation. These were not ordinary crimes. This is the reason why this Parliament should be persuaded to pass the law that hon. Imanyara has just moved. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the existence of this kind of situation is not new. It has been existing in other parts of the world and there are many examples that people can look at. However, what comes to my mind, and every hon. Member can quickly access it if they go to the Cable News Network (CNN) blog, is that they will see what happened in Cambodia;. 1.7 million people were killed in Cambodia in three months because of the uprising of the Khmer Rouge. Many of us would remember hearing about the Khmer Rouge again and again. It was not possible in Cambodia to deal with those murders, rapes, killings and burning of properties that took place using the normal laws that existed at that time. It was necessary to set up a special law that would deal with that situation. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, so in seconding this Bill, I am urging Members of Parliament to bring to bear the fact that there is need for us right now to set up this Special Tribunal so that we can deal with a situation that existed and could not be handled with the current laws that exist in this country. Legally and politically speaking, the laws that were in existence at this time and the laws that are in existence at that time are not capable of dealing with the situation that we have. Therefore, this is one fundamental reason why I am urging hon. Members in this House and those who are listening to us even outside this House, that there is need for us to come together as a nation and support the aspirations of many Kenyans and set up this Special Tribunal. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this brings me to the second point why we need to set up this Special Tribunal. A lot of Kenyans out there were injured and suffered crimes. People lost their lives. Children were butchered. Women were raped. Young men were killed at the prime of their youth. A lot of people show the clips that were there during the post-election violence. Those are images we cannot forget. These Kenyans who were victims are listening to us today and looking up to the leadership of the country to do something about the problems of victimization they encountered at that period. It is a time in history for this Parliament to rise to the occasion and listen to the cries of the people in the countryside and those in towns who suffered the brunt of the election violence. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, even reading what was recommended by the Justice Waki and Kriegler Commissions, our people suffered and need a closure to that sad chapter of history. I know that we need to forgive and this is what the good book tells us and we will forgive. That opportunity will come under the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) but under this law, we want people to be held responsible so that Kenyans who brought us to this Parliament would be able to see leadership in us. Leadership is not about being popular; leadership is about walking and charting places which may not necessarily have been charted before. Sometimes it is"
}