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"id": 166472,
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"speaker_name": "Dr. Eseli",
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"legal_name": "David Eseli Simiyu",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this time to contribute to this Motion. From time immemorial, judges and magistrates have been men and women of respect in a community. That is because the basic instincts of a human being are to be uncontrolled. Therefore, we need law to control them so that they can live within the norms of society. Throughout history, there were times when judges and magistrates were looked at as evil, on and off, over time. We need to be careful that we do not revert back to those dark days. We need to be careful as we lay down this Vetting of Judges and Magistrates Bill; that we do not set in motion a form of inquisition. That would be very tragic. I believe that the intent of the Bill is noble. However, Clause 9(14), which many speakers have talked about, is what can make this whole process become an inquisition. That is because through Clause 9(14), the two Principals can easily sneak in people who are going to do their bidding when it comes to vetting of judges. We might end up with a radical surgery where they can weed out certain people for their own reasons. I think, with all due respect, I know that the Minister was honest when he wanted to bring this Bill. He had even brought it earlier, although it had not met the standards of the Constitution and he had to withdraw it. I know he is honest in trying to get this thing going. Please, I am begging him to get rid of that. Get rid of that because it is going to expose this country to a lot of danger. There are many things that we could talk about regarding the whole process. However, what I look at as most critical is the following: As we vet those judges and end up with a clean Judiciary; that, alone, will not restore justice in this country. We have several other arms that we need to look at. I hope that the same seriousness will be shown when we get to that point. The police reforms are very important. We need reforms in our correction institutions. Many times, judges have done their work and sent criminals to jail. But the criminals have found their way back to the streets even without serving their full terms. That demoralizes the Judiciary, especially those who are hard-working. They end up with all the criticism that we keep on throwing at them. They see their hard work going down the drain. That has led to a multiplier effect where the Police Force is also committing many extra-judicial executions because it is frustrated. Many criminals, after being jailed, find their way back to the streets. This is only but a tiny step in starting constitutionalism in this country. We can stamp out impunity and corruption because those are the things that have led to the declining situation in this country. This, according to me, should not raise any hackles. If the Minister is agreeable and we come up with the various amendments that we want, in fact, this is something that we can pass very quickly even before the Speaker rules about issues pertaining to the recent nominations. We want this Bill to go through quickly so that the judges are vetted. That way, if the Chief Justice is picked from among them, he or she will have been vetted. It will be tragic if we picked a Chief Justice to preside over a Judiciary of vetted colleagues, when he or she has not been vetted. That would be tragic. We need to pass this as fast as possible, so that we can regularize that situation. I think many people have supported this Motion and I would rather not go into many issues. I will bring them out during the amendment stage. I am glad that, after so many years, finally, the great school, Friends School Kamusinga, has finally been recognized in a Bill of Parliament. Clause 18(f) says that one of the requisite qualifications for a judge is good judgment, including common sense. Common sense is the motto of Friends School Kamusinga; a great school in my constituency. I beg to support."
}