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{
"id": 1356561,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1356561/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cheptumo",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13591,
"legal_name": "Cheptumo William Kipkiror",
"slug": "cheptumo-william-kipkiror"
},
"content": "When it comes to the recruitment of these police going to Haiti, I heard some Members raising concerns; asking how we decided which officers were to be deployed. Let me confirm to the House that the same issue arose again when we had the meeting with the Cabinet Secretary. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you look at Paragraph 15 and Paragraph 16 of the Report, it tells you very clearly the category of the forces. There is the command at the headquarters and you can see the various categories of police officers in terms of rank. Consequently, when you go to Page 16, it will give you the various formations of the members. So, it is clear. They are not just moving to Haiti generally. There is a clear framework in terms of how they should be deployed. Additionally, the Inspector General (IG) was also present in that particular session with the Committee. He was able to clearly explain to the Committee of the formation. We are talking about 1,000 police officers being deployed to Haiti and they are not going at ago. We were told they will be going in shifts as they continue training. One thing that I need to clarify to the country is that, as we speak today, the training of these officers is ongoing on various issues. For instance, there is issue of language. Haiti is a French-speaking country and we are an English-speaking country. Nonetheless, there are other French-speaking countries that are going to give support together with Kenya. So, that concern has already been dealt with. In as much as Kenya is an English-speaking country, there are other French speaking countries that are joining this mission. We, therefore, supplement in terms of operations and so on when it comes to communication. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other issue I wanted to raise is that Kenya, as has been said by colleagues here, is a country that has been called upon to participate in many peace keeping missions, not only in Africa, but in other parts of the world. God has been gracious to our nation that since independence, He has given us a peaceful nation that is guided by the rule of law. We are now 60 years in our independence. Even when we have had our internal issues, we have been able to resolve them with the support of the Ministry. It is true that some parts of our country today, especially in the North Rift, Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana, Isiolo and Marsabit have issues of insecurity. The Cabinet Secretary assured us, and this is very important because I want to inform the country that we were equally concerned during our meeting with the Cabinet Secretary and the Inspector General (IG) of Police. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, how do we deploy forces to Haiti when we have issues in our country? They confirmed to the Committee and we were satisfied that this will not in any way undermine or prejudice the security of our internal nation. The Cabinet Secretary and the IG assured us that they will ensure that there is peace in every part of our country. This is important for the House and as the Chair of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations, it is important that as we deploy, emphasis is given to secure our land, every county and constituency. I beg to reply."
}