Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1352982,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1352982/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 198,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "Another aspect that came out is on sensitization of the people about the sad side effects of cattle rustling and banditry that has affected many families. In 2022 alone we lost 279 Kenyans. This was the number released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. It was a light moment when one of the colleagues in this House said that we need to relook at the dowry negotiations because when you want to go and get married in some cultures, you must pay cows. The proposal from the Members, which is not captured - I hope it is a culture - is that our parents and our community should review the issue of dowry negotiations. This is because, even nowadays, getting a spouse is not easy. One cannot be fighting to get a wife and cows at the same time. I know a number of ladies who are on a hunting spree. I am told there is a pastor who is supposed to come around and pray for people to get husbands. So, what is making people not get husbands? It is not God; it is because of our bride price negotiations. We need to review that. I know that Sen. Nyamu understands this very well. The third point is on the issue of ‘others,’ which includes the collapsing of other Bills. I know the Senate Majority Leader would want to move something on this later. Despite the existence of the Prevention of Livestock and Produce Theft Bill, on the issue of the Penal Code, we are collapsing into this Bill. What I am saying in simple terms is; I know this Parliament has tried to address the issue of livestock theft. We are collapsing all the Bills into one. Even the stealing of maize. I know in Mt. Kenya, although I am not isolating that region, Prof. Kithure Kindiki was forced to form a Police Unit to fight coffee theft. I do not know whether that coffee theft has reached Kericho; Sen. Cheruiyot will tell us. We are also forming an Anti-maize theft, Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU). We also now have an Anti-Coffee Theft Unit that Prof. Kithure Kindiki was forced to--- So, it is not only about cows. We are also talking about the theft of any produce, including chicken, sheep and cows. At the end of the day, these are produce we are--- So, what I am telling this House is that I agree that there is a Penal Code, Prevention of Livestock and Produce Theft Bill. We are collapsing all these into one law, so that it becomes easy to implement. At least, you have practiced for some time in the legal realm. You will understand that sometimes one section of the law says this and when you open another section, it says something else. That is how I was let off the hook under the National Cohesion and Integration (NCIC) Act. The Constitution and the NCIC were saying the opposite. When I went to court, it was invalidated because of the constitutional interpretations. That is why I can stand here. Were it not for the inconsistencies of the law, I would be serving my sixth or seventh month at Kamiti, as it has been said by Sen. Cheruiyot. I am not a supporter of police brutality. I should be the one crying the loudest. You represented me in court. I was arrested a number of times; there is no police station that I have not slept in. It is good that Senators, including Sen. Veronica Maina, are here. All of us have the potential to be in police stations. If you visit Kisumu Police Station, on the wall you will see that ‘Sen. Cherarkey was here.’ The same applies to Bungoma Police Station, Upper Hill Station, and Gigiri Police Station, at the corridor all the way to the main cell."
}