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{
    "id": 186053,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/186053/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 260,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Maj-Gen. Nkaisserry",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister, Ministry of State for Defence",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 192,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Kasaine Ole Nkaissery",
        "slug": "joseph-nkaissery"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this very important Motion. I support the Motion. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very serious matter and it has taken this country a long time to address it. The cardinal responsibility of any government is to provide security and protect the property of its citizens. The Government is doing that. But we have a problem of leadership from the concerned communities. The concerned communities are prone to cattle-rustling. It is the high time that a policy is formulated to ensure that these communities are held responsible. We cannot continue to have communities killing each other on a daily basis. We have elected leaders, parliamentarians, councillors and chiefs all along. At the same time, we have security committees at the district level whose members even include elected members. So, for us to stamp out this problem, we should start peace initiatives at the grassroots level. That is the only time that these communities will abandon this practice. It is a shame for our country to continue losing citizens through crooks, cattle rustlers, Mungiki and the Sabaoti Land Defence Force (SLDF). It is a shame. We have the security forces, the intelligence, the police and the Provincial Administration. We cannot allow this to continue. A policy should be formulated so that even elected leaders from those communities are held responsible any time their tribesmen cause loss of life of other communities. This is very important. Once cattle are stolen from a particular community, the district security committee should be held responsible until that livestock is produced. That is the only time we can tame these people. That is the only time they can stop this menance. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I believe the other factor which this Government must take into consideration is the issue of small arms and light weapons. I am the Vice-President of the International Parliamentarians organisation on small arms and light weapons. Our country should not be allowing communities to own small arms and light weapons. We should disarm them even by force. The Turkanas lost their lives due to the use of small arms and light weapons. I insist that we should hold responsible the parliamentarians from the communities where this menance is always taking place. That is the only way we can have ownership and stop this menance. The councillors, chiefs, sub-chiefs and District Commissioners of those particular districts, where we have these problems, must be held responsible. Unless we hold people responsible, we will continue having this menance. I was shocked to see Government officers holding barazas at a place August 6, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2375 where people have lost their lives instead of arresting the people."
}