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{
    "id": 1522434,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1522434/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 210,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Bungoma County, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Catherine Wambilianga",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also rise to weigh in on this Bill that seeks to improve the wellness and welfare of police officers. It is common sense and we can see that our police officers are not living a good life. Despite this, it is unfortunate that we have not addressed their challenges, particularly as key leaders in this country. These are people who have taken good care of us, helping us whenever we have issues. We call them to maintain order when we have matters in our villages and homes, yet their welfare and wellness have not been taken care of. I support Hon. Masara who brought this Bill. Policemen go through a lot, especially in matters mental illness. Most of them find themselves in a corner, especially when faced with situations. They have nobody to go to, yet it is us, the public and legislators, who should help them. Our police officers have gone through very difficult situations. For example, when there is an accident on the road, they are faced with a very difficult situation. They are the ones we call to remove the bodies. When there is drowning, we call them to remove the bodies for us. But at the end of the day, nobody seeks to sit down and counsel them. They get back to their homes with their normal problems, which even emanate from the poor salaries that they get. With such situations, a police officer goes home to meet his family while they are very stressed, such that whenever there are any issues, they sometimes result into causes of suicide. This is something that us as legislators, should look at. I support the fact that they have established a wellness centre that will care for them. When I was young, I had a brother who was a police officer. We could visit him, but the conditions under which they lived were terrible. The Government has tried to improve on that, but it is still not good enough. They still share beds and houses, and so much has happened. These are our own children whom we have educated and we expect them to also have good lives. When they get home, they also need to have peace that everybody else gets. In our opinion, officers are only verified. Nobody respects them because we imagine these are just officers who should take care of us. However, as legislators, we should look at their welfare and see what we can put in place to cushion them from a number of issues. The fact that we are also seeking to establish wellness centres in counties, I feel that the Government should allocate enough resources. In support of the previous speaker, Hon. Keynan, we should reallocate some funds from other ministries and put into the police officers’ welfare. This will enable them to have centres where they can go and get reprieve. I support this Bill and hope that its implementation will follow. We pass Bills here in Parliament, but implementation becomes a problem. Once we pass this Bill, we believe the Government will take it up and ensure it is implemented."
}