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{
    "id": 1373068,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1373068/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 290,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Caroli Omondi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "It is more of a factor of patriarchy. If you study the violence that constitutes femicide, it is as my sister, Hon. Esther, has said. It is mainly by those closest and dearest to the victims like the in-laws, husbands, boyfriends and sometimes brothers, when there is a dispute within the family. This is a function of patriarchy. We live in societies. Although our Constitution recognises our culture, under Article 11, as the cumulative civilisation of Kenyans and nation that we have built over the years, we still have cultural norms and practices that the same Constitution recognises as repugnant to justice and morality. We have concentrated power in the hands of men. We have built cultural institutions that exclude women from decision- making. We have promoted cultural practices and norms that give dominance to men. This is the standing that we have. We have excluded our women from means of economic empowerment – tools they can use to give themselves freedom, land, education and the rest. This is the genesis of some of these grotesque acts we see against our women. It is important that we come together as a nation – be it in families, churches or schools – to preach against cultural norms that are used to downgrade, depress, oppress and suppress our women. We should not shy away from this even if we are uncomfortable with those truths. It is patriarchy that is promoting some of these grotesque acts. I urge this House, that we come together and find a way of working in a bipartisan manner to put mechanisms in place. We should have a national register of all persons who have been convicted of gender-based violence crimes. That should be the first point of call. It should give us a warning or act as a signal of who is likely to commit femicide. We should also strengthen international co-operation. The case of a gentleman who was recently re-arrested and is awaiting deportation to the USA clearly demonstrates this. Those of you who are old enough will remember how many of our women were killed by foreign soldiers who used to come for holiday in Mombasa. They used to murder them and get away with it. We need to strengthen international co-operation mechanisms to deal with this phenomenon. At this particular time, we need to call upon the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the International Police Services to refocus their gender-based violence desks so as to strengthen their capacity to investigate cases of femicide. Also, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) should prosecute such cases without delay. Many of them take too long or criminals go un-punished and people are beginning to develop a sense of impunity. Also, the Judiciary should come out strongly and support all the efforts towards this particular direction. With those few remarks, I support."
}