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{
"id": 251402,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/251402/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kajwang",
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"speaker": {
"id": 164,
"legal_name": "Gerald Otieno Kajwang",
"slug": "otieno-kajwang"
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the hurry is not the issue of sexual offences; it is the bandwagon; the omnibus, which we want to create to bring things, which should not be brought under and have nothing to do with sexual offences. One of them is the issue of age. When we dealt with the Children's Act, for example, the mischief, which we wanted to address at that time was that you have, for example, given birth to a child with a woman who is not your wife, but you do not want to take responsibility over that child. So, we defined this law with a meaning that the father should be made to look after the child until he or she finishes secondary school education because that is the primary responsibility of a father. I was in it, I was asked to go to Mombasa and we advised accordingly. They had proposed the age of 21, but we said if you call a girl at that age a child, you are joking. That is why we put the age of 18 because at that age, the child would have maybe, finished secondary school. April 27, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 791 However, we did not put that meaning there as to suggest that a child who is 16 years old is not a woman. We knew that internationally at the age of 16, a child can be married if she finds a man. In the whole of the Russian Continent, China and India, immediately a girl-child reaches the age of 16 she is free to be married. That is the recognised age of maturity into womanhood. It is not our responsibility to stop our girls if they want to get married, when they are ready; otherwise, they will rebel and become bad people. If a girl is lucky to find a boy, because they are very few now; they are not willing to take responsibility, allow her to get married. So, when you raise that age of sexual offences and take a woman who is 18 years old as a child; if you do this, a girl-child of 17 years will not go for a dance. If my 17 year old son, for example, was to go out with somebody's daughter who is also 17, and they dance at the Carnivore, and my son touches the girl, he will go in for ten years. The sentence will be ten years, irrespective of whether the girl said: \"Yes, touch me\". How can you make such kind of law, that a girl who is 17 years old cannot go out with a boy who is also 17 years old and enjoy themselves if they want? Even in America, they are not allowed to take alcoholic drinks, but only up to 16 years old. President Bush had a problem with his daughter who was under 16 years old, because she bought some drinks. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is also another issue of child pornography. What is child pornography if we ask the definers? Pornography is simply pornography! There is no child or adult pornography. So, why are we making the law look so laughable? We make people who come from abroad laugh at us when we say there is something called child pornography. However, child pornography is not defined in this Bill. What is it? I know what it is, but it is not included in this Bill. So, if you charged me with child pornography and you took me to court, I will ask: \"What is that?\" Do not make us look like people who are not serious when we are making laws. On this issue of pornography, they say this includes showing a child an obscene object. What is an obscene object? I have seen the gadgets used by HIV/AIDS educators for demonstration on how to use condoms. Those are obscene objects!"
}