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"speaker_name": "Mr. Lesrima",
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"legal_name": "Simon Saimanga Lesirma",
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to support the Vote for this Ministry because this is a very important Ministry. I wish to begin by congratulating the Ministry for the reforms that they have carried out, particularly in re-training the Provincial Administration; the District Commissioners (DCs), the chiefs and so on. They have also put in place performance contracts which now allow the public--- There is now the Shauri Day which is on a Monday, where the DC spends a day hearing complaints from the public. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, nobody is now immune from crime in this country. We have heard of incidents at the backyard of the President's and Ministers' constituencies. I must thank the Media for highlighting a number of these incidences that have taken place in the country. I want to ask the Ministry and the Commissioner of Police to be a little bit tolerant when they see Media reports, because very often there is a tendency to want to have good news all the time and feel good. I want to congratulate the Media for covering incidences of insecurity, particularly, where I come from. There was a time, early last year, when the Provincial Administration used one media house to deny activities of insecurity where people were being attacked. I want to thank Citizen Television for coming out clearly to show pictures of people suffering. We have a joint responsibility in maintaining law and order. We recognise that the number of policemen is not adequate to guard every citizen. For this reason, when there are problems, we need to share and support each other in solving them. There are major and minor security problems which can be solved. Minor problems are there but are a nuisance to very many people. A good example is insecurity on Rumuruti-Maralal Road. That road is 110 kilometres long passing mainly through Laikipia, leading to Lake Turkana and my district. I want to say that bandits have literally taken 2460 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES July 11, 2007 over this road. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I say so because there is no week that passes without an incident of personal vehicles or public transport vehicles being stopped and people being robbed of their mobile phones and cash. I would like to be forgiven for keeping on highlighting this issue. I am not being very parochial, because every time I speak, people look at me as representing the people of Samburu. The buses and matatus that ply that route hardly belong to Samburus. The passengers who get injured include civil servants. As I speak now, some of the civil servants are lying in hospitals with broken bones and they do not even come from that area. There is no reason for them to suffer. I want to take this opportunity to thank the Government for establishing two police posts in two locations between Maralal and Rumuruti. One of the police posts has a communication facility at a place called Tingamara. The post next to Samburu border has policemen without communication gadgets. I would like to say that given the whole stretch of the road is now vacant following the eviction of Samburus from Laikipia from the land they own, which is 20,000 acres of land, there is now a vacuum. That is the area where bandits are taking advantage to rob other Kenyans, not necessarily my constituents. We are even endangering the lives of policemen by having them in those quarters. I must continue to mention these things. Even last night, there was an incident where passengers were removed from two matatus and stripped completely naked. I know that somebody will deny this tomorrow - I know that I am becoming a nuisance - but this is a fact. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the police and district Commissioners (DCs) require support in these operational areas. I think we need to be a little bit serious. You will excuse me for focusing on Samburu District, because this could be a replication in other areas. As I speak, the DC for Samburu District does not even have a Land Rover. It broke down two days ago. I know that he will be embarrassed to hear that I am talking in Parliament about this issue. The other car that he has is a small Hyundai make, yet, all of us know what is going on in that operational area. I am saying these things in the interest of my people and also public servants, so that they can be supported. These are some of the minor things that the Government should focus on. Sometime back, the Government officers surrendered so many vehicles and packed them at the Ministry of Roads and Public Works parking lot. Why can we not give a DC and Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD), in an operational area of 21,000 square kilometres, just two extra Land Cruisers? Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to also talk about the issue of provision of more police posts, especially in the newly-created districts. In particular, I would like to mention that the OCPD for the new district of Laikipia is still based in Nanyuki. I hope that when we pass this Vote, the Government will re-establish the security system in Rumuruti, so it can help us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Anti-stock Theft Unit also needs to be located where there is cattle rustling. There is no point stationing the Anti-stock Theft Unit in Gilgil. I do not know what it does there. I do not know what kind of cattle rustling takes place over there. Maybe, it is the few exchanges of chicken and goats. We have requested that the Unit should be posted to various places, which the Ministry is aware of. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, very little is said about policemen who die in the line of duty. Very few people talk about the subject. There seems to be more sympathy for criminals. Many policemen lose their lives in the course of duty. In the year 2004, an OCPD was killed at the border of my constituency. Also, a few months ago, an Officer Commanding Station (OCS) was killed in a place called Lokori in Turkana District. I, believe, two weeks ago an OCS was also killed somewhere in Baringo. However, there is no indication that there has been a very strong pursuit of the criminals behind the killings. If there is, I want to be excused. But, I think we need to July 11, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2461 send a very strong message; that anybody who kills a policeman will have to pay for it. Otherwise, they will be totally demoralised. I think the efforts that are being made to track down those who kill policemen need to be publicized, not just in my area, but wherever this happens. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, my final point is with regard, again, to small things that can make a big difference. The Dog Section of the police plays a major role in the security of our nation. Dogs are very intelligent animals which can track and identify very easily where the criminals are hiding. I know that this is an area which has been neglected. A Dog Section was set up in Maralal about 20 years ago, but no dogs have been provided up to now. We have borrowed dogs, occasionally, from some friends to track down criminals and they have never failed. I know that this is a very expensive undertaking. But I want to plead that more resources should be directed to that Section. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}