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"id": 19545,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/19545/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Mungatana",
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"speaker": {
"id": 185,
"legal_name": "Danson Buya Mungatana",
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"content": "Let us give this Authority proper power. If they can summon witnesses, take evidence and go through a mini-judicial process, then let them be given appropriate powers. If the Authority has to police the police officers, the place that it will bite them most is in compensation. There is the option of prosecution but compensation is also a good option. For instance, if an amount of Kshs50,000 for beating up somebody unfairly has been awarded, after evidence has been taken, this authority must have powers to deduct up to one-third salary of the officer, if he is found guilty. If that one-third salary deduction is not enough punishment for this person and the injured person wants more compensation, they can go away from this tribunal and look for other civil remedies. So, this Authority must be given powers such that when an officer is told: “You have done this to me? You have done this to my daughter? You have done this to my son? I am going to report you to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority” the officer knows that the Authority is going to take the case seriously. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, that way, someone in the village will know that there is a place I can report a police officer who has miss-conducted himself and a police officer will know that if he is found guilty, he will not be transferred or just told that the DPP is making recommendations for him to be charged but rather the Authority can actually deduct a third of his salary straightaway because he has beaten up people or because he has arrested people unfairly or because he has mistreated somebody’s daughter or because he has mistreated somebody’s son. That way, police officers will be aware that they should not be joking with this Authority. Therefore, I urge the Minister to seriously consider including such a clause in this Bill. If he does not do so, I will introduce it myself during the Committee Stage because we need to have this kind of thing, so that police officers can know that it is not a joke because, firstly, the Governor will be appointing someone to receive such reports. Secondly, if one is found guilty, one will lose one-third of one’s salary. Money talk makes everyone to be afraid of doing the wrong things. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other thing I want to bring to the authority of the Minister is the membership of the Board he seeks to create under Clause 9. He is seeking to create a board of eight people with the chairperson and seven other persons appointed by virtue of their knowledge and, at least, 15 years experience in the field of criminology, psychology, law, human rights, gender, medicine, alternative dispute resolution, security matters or community policing. What I feel has been omitted here, and which we need to include, is that this Bill must have regional and ethnic balance. It is now a constitutional requirement to do so but we need to re-emphasize it in the law we are making because, in their minds, people are still so Nairobi-centric – that everything is all about people who are qualified and people we know. So, I would urge that such a clause be included in this Bill by the Minister, in a language he would want. If he does not do so, I will introduce it myself during the Committee Stage because we need to make a shift from the way Kenya used to be, where everything was Nairobi-centric to the new Kenya that we voted for in passing the new Constitution. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in exceptional circumstances, regarding matters of national importance, the Authority can submit a report to both the National Assembly and the Cabinet Secretary in charge of security matters. This has been cited under Clause 7, Sub-clause 3. In fact, Clause 30, again, talks about the reporting mechanism to be adopted by the Authority. The Authority is supposed to report to the Cabinet Secretary after every six months. There is also a report which the Authority is supposed to take to Parliament. Technically speaking, there is need to polish up this Clause because which one is this report and which one is the other? If this one excludes those others, then there is going to be re-wording of this clause to take into account the regularity of the reporting provided for under Clause 30, so that this is married. It will look neater that way. Another technical issue, in terms of the procedure of appointment under Clause 11, of course, in the first appointments that need to be done, there is the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Judicial Service Commission, et cetera . However, we are subsequently not going to have the Office of the Prime Minister and in the event of the filling of a vacancy that arises, there is no provision for the removal of that office. Clause 12 of this Bill, again, says that whenever there is a vacancy in the Board, the procedure set out in Clause 11shall apply. Now, that procedure, again, involves the Office of the Prime Minister, which will not be in existence. So, can some polishing be done? This is not the first law we have passed that has taken care of the Office of the Prime Minister in the first instance and in the second or third instance, it has been polished up, so that we do not have an irrelevant clause within the law. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, having pointed out the issue of the county, which I hope the Minister has taken seriously; and, having pointed out the need for making this Authority real to the people by making sure that there is a time limit within which to act on the complaints that may come from all those areas which are far away from the centre of the Republic, I beg to support."
}