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"speaker_name": "Mrs. Mugo",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Education",
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"legal_name": "Beth Wambui Mugo",
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to contribute to the Motion on the Floor and support this Vote. Before I go on, let me just bring to your attention that the Chamber is extremely cold. We are feeling cold. I hope you will look into that matter. For the last few days, it has been very cold. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me start by congratulating the Minister and his Ministry for a job very well done. He has tried to give a secure environment in this country at a most difficult and trying time. We have followed all the news about insecurity in this country. That is definitely disturbing. But we are encouraged because we have seen the resolve and the commitment of the Minister to get the situation under control. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to stress a point that was raised earlier, on the Mungiki menace. Many young people have been killed and others are killing other people. It is not very encouraging for us to see such images on our television screens. I was particularly disturbed by students who were said to be among one of those groups. I would like to ask the Minister and the Commissioner of Police to pay particular attention to those very young 2498 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 12,2006 people who may have gotten into those situations not because of their will, but were tricked into them. Even though those people are armed, the police should find ways and means of securing young kids who are involved in that menace. It is a bit disturbing, especially when it comes to students. We understand the problem and we know that it is very difficult, but I am just appealing. At the same, I wish to congratulate the Commissioner of Police and the Minister because they are working under very difficult circumstances. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to touch on the employment of security officers. As one speaker said, a lot of crime these days centres around rape and sexual violence. That crime is directed at women. We passed a Bill on sexual harassment in this House. We are looking forward to its implementation. I think policewomen and women in other security agencies such as Administration Police (AP) or even the army can work best in that sector. But we know that when it comes to recruitment, women are very few. They do not recruit enough women and yet, they are the majority in this country. So, it cannot be lack of candidates. During the next recruitment of police officers, we would like to see an equal number of men and women being considered. Women should be given equal opportunities so that they can handle crimes related to harassment and rape of women. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is also a point on training. I want to appeal to the Minister to make sure that even the existing Police Force is given enough refresher courses. That way, they can change their tactics when they are dealing with issues such as domestic and sexual violence. The language used by the police is extremely important. It could either deter or encourage culprits to go to the police. They know the kind of language that is used is to embarrass victims even more. There is room for training our policemen, so that they can deal with new and emerging crimes. That is because crime, like everything else, has evolved and changed a great deal. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to talk about the issue of insecurity in urban areas, particularly in my constituency, and in the City of Nairobi, as a whole. I would like to ask the Minister to work closely with line Ministries such as the Ministry of Local Government. There are some areas with no street lights at all. We have no street lights in places like Kawangware where there are very many people living in a very small area. There are no street lights, yet the Ministry of Energy has put up electricity. However, there are no poles and bulbs to light up the streets. We cannot talk about security in a city or a town setting which is in darkness. So, I request the Minister to consult with the Minister for Local Government so that we can have lighting where it should be. We have to move and light up streets in Eastlands and other areas like Dagoretti. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also like to ask the Minister to give us more police posts in those residential areas. I had the pleasure of visiting parts of Dagoretti with the Assistant Minister, Office of President, hon. Kingi. He confirmed that we need more police posts, if not police stations, in every area so that we can feel secure. I hope that they will allocate some money to establish new police posts. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we also need to collaborate with vigilante groups. I want to say something about vigilante groups. I know there are vigilante groups and \"vigilante groups.\" There are some vigilante groups which are doing a very good job. They should not be looked at as another unruly mob of young people. I want to encourage them because they protect many villages. In this era of mobile phones, if the villagers could identify young men of good character to work closely with the police, that would solve a lot of problems in urban areas. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker Sir, another big problem we have in our area, Dagoretti, is that of chang'aa . We have tried to do away with chang'aa and other local brews, which are quite a number. However, I am amazed to see that police officers in their vehicles are the ones who come for payment and give a freehand to those people who brew the chang'aa . When I speak to the July 12, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2499 Provincial Administration officers like the chiefs and the District Officer (DO), all they do is ask me: \"What shall we do?\" They know the registration numbers of the police vehicles and I have even supplied the numbers to the police bosses. However, that goes on day in day out. Mutoini is one such area with a big problem, which is just within Karen Police Station. I would like to ask the Minister to look into the behaviour of police officers who are working under the Karen Police Station and other such areas and ask them why we cannot get rid of chang'aa in Mutoini and other areas. I know that there are many good police officers, some of whom work in my area. However, if there are two or three rotten ones, they ruin the good work which is being done by the police. That is another area I am asking the Minister to look into. When a community cries out loud and says: \"Please, remove this police officer because he is not good for us. He just harasses people because he wants to be bribed,\" then you better remove that officer. I want to ask the Minister not to move such an officer to another police station because he will continue to do the same things he was doing. With those few words, I beg to support."
}