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{
    "id": 1382085,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1382085/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 255,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Joe Nyutu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "very seriously by the Government. That is why I rise to support this Motion that seeks the declaration of cattle rustling and banditry as a national disaster. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, (Prof.) Kithure Kindiki for the efforts he has shown over the short period that he has been CS in that Ministry. We have seen him visit the ground where these offences happened. This is a job well done. We see a coordinated Cabinet Secretary. However, there is room for improvement. The Cabinet Secretary and his Ministry should improve on some of the recommendations we have made. I am glad that you have advised that we can introduce amendments to this Motion. One of the challenges that we have been experiencing in trying to arrest banditry and cattle rustling is where we send the security forces; our police officers. It has been established that - I do not know why this tradition has been there - the officers that we post to these areas sometimes are those that are newly recruited. Therefore, they find the terrain very challenging. I would want to suggest that they should form a special force group consisting of those who are drawn from these areas. We have young men and women who have grown up in these bandit prone areas and are very conversant with that type of terrain. I propose that the Cabinet Secretary should make a special wing basically comprising of officers who have grown up in these areas because they understand the terrain well and will be to counter those bandits. That is doable because we can identify where people come from even when they are serving in the different services. Over the years, banditry and cattle rustling appeared as something that can not be eradicated. I remember some years back, we had a problem with a group calling itself the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF). It gave this country, especially Kenyans living around Mt. Elgon, great problems for a number of years. When enough was enough and the Army was deployed to contain the problem, it only took a few months and the leader of that gang was killed. I do not know why the leaders from these areas are always opposed to the deployment of the armed forces to arrest that menace. This is something that should be thought about so that we do not have perennial problem. This problem can be arrested. I suggest that we look at the possibility of deploying the Army to arrest this problem. I have listened to Sen. Cherarkey and I concur with him that there could be people - even in Parliament - who support this cattle rustling for commercial benefit. We should have a special investigative team to find out who funds these rustlers. We cannot continue having our people killed and lose their life investments through the livestock they keep just because there are some powerful people somewhere who support this banditry. Let us establish a special investigative group to establish who funds, supports and gives political protection to these people so that we can deal with this issue, once and for all."
}