Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 1522402,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522402/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 178,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I rise to support the National Police Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2024, whose objective is to provide for mental wellness and the mental well-being of police officers. It is being acknowledged that police officers face mental health challenges. That fact has been borne out by what we often experience. We read in newspapers about police officers committing suicide or homicides, where some of them kill their seniors. Those stories are publicised every day. Those that we read about in the papers are probably just a tip of the iceberg. If some police officers go to the extent of killing other officers and themselves, what about those who are suffering silently? What is happening to their families? If a person has a mental illness, even his family suffers. That matter needs to be addressed. Therefore, the Bill is timely. It is not only the officers or their families who suffer, but also the public that they interact with. The handling of people who come into contact with the police is important. Although what happens is not documented, we know of the brutality that police officers sometimes mete out. We may start to think that that is probably how police officers are. However, that may just be an expression of undiagnosed mental illness because their actions appear pathological. We blame them, but we do not realise that they may be in need of help. It is possible that a number of officers work while unwell and in need of mental health care. We should ask ourselves why we suspect that some police officers are unwell. We just imagine that it is some condition, but it has not been documented. The magnitude of the problem has not been brought out. If implemented as proposed, this Bill may address these issues. There are some things that may be obvious to us, but are very important. For example, do we do character suitability check before we recruit police officers into training? What is the curriculum of their training to protect them from the nature of the work they do? Police officers work for long hours in difficult conditions and are faced with horrendous circumstances. What they go through is often a matter of life and death. People cannot remain mentally stable if every time they are out in operations their lives are in danger. They are often faced with high tension and physical trauma. We know instances where whole troops of police officers have been eliminated. What happens to those who survive? Do they remain well? They also witness mutilated bodies when we call them to crime scenes. Do they remain well after such incidents? Do they get counselling? Do we do psychoanalysis on the effects of these incidents? We must look into the psychological trauma that they suffer from. The result is that many officers are working under severe depression that expresses itself in cases like homicide and suicide. Anybody who is exposed to extreme horrendous conditions can suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and they need care. Is the care currently available to our officers? I The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}