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{
"id": 1522432,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522432/?format=api",
"text_counter": 208,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Eldas, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Adan Keynan",
"speaker": {
"id": 41,
"legal_name": "Adan Wehliye Keynan",
"slug": "adan-keynan"
},
"content": "can have an accountable, resilient and ever-ready police service. We removed them from the ambit of the big giant called Office of the President, so that they can have their own accountable system to take care of their day-to-day activities. Once this Bill is passed, and I hope it will go through, it is expected to curb incidences of misconduct, promote ethical policing and rebuild public trust in the law enforcement agency. It is a critical component that the public has faith in our police service. The public must appreciate the work of police officers. That will only happen if there is understanding. The public must have adequate information as to what it entails to be a police officer. Police officers must also appreciate what they are expected to do. That is what it means to have an accountable, professionally run, well-funded and grounded police service that meets the test of our constitutional requirement. The Bill also provides for professional development and capacity building, which means continuous education. To enhance competency and effectiveness of a police officer, the Bill emphasises continuous professional development through regular training, skill enhancement programmes and leadership development initiatives. This is one of the benchmarks of individual capacity building. Every profession requires continuous training. The other bit is the strengthening of community policing. In a bid to foster harmonious relations between law enforcement and the public, the Bill advocates for community policing as a proactive strategy. This proactive engagement between the police officers and the local community will create a culture of trust, cooperation and problem-solving. In this world bedevilled with challenges like criminal activities, cybercrimes and many other issues, we need cooperation between the public and the police. There must be an avenue, and that avenue is this Bill. It is an accepted, law-centred, law-driven and law-placed mechanism that this Bill attempts to provide. This will enable the police officer to function as expected. This Bill also represents a significant step forward in reforming the Kenya policing framework by enhancing the police officer welfare, professionalising law enforcement and strengthening community partnership. This is the Nyumba Kumi Initiative, which is an administrative mechanism. Once this Bill is passed, it will be anchored in law. This is critical and, therefore, what we expect. Luckily, in our Constitution, there is something called public participation. The framers of the current Constitution were neither naive nor feeble. They thought outside the box and recognised the need to engage the public. It is two-way. The police officer, as part of the Kenyan society and the law enforcement community, is expected to understand and appreciate the ecosystem in which they operate. That ecosystem is unique. It is filled with criminals and law-abiding citizens, and there is also public expectation of what the police officer is supposed to do. That notwithstanding, there are a number of things that we must also take into account because it is one thing to legislate. The issue of funding and resource allocation, as I have alluded to, must be addressed comprehensively. We can legislate, and we have legislated in the past, but this must come with a proactive and practical funding programme, for this Bill to have a meaning. Once we talk about the stakeholders involved, this bit must also be collectively approached through public education. We must also look at conflict resolution between the public and the police. Finally, as part of our police diplomacy, our police officers are right now in Haiti. This country has prided itself on providing some of the best police officers. As we approach the 2025/2026 Budget, I beseech my colleagues to reallocate funding from other sectors…"
}