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"id": 29022,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/29022/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ms. Karua",
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"speaker": {
"id": 166,
"legal_name": "Martha Wangari Karua",
"slug": "martha-karua"
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"content": "Thank you Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to support this long awaited Bill. I want to congratulate Kenyans for passing the Constitution. I honestly believe that without the command of the Constitution, the Government was not going to bring this Bill. One can even see that it has even come towards the tail end. The Ransley Commission was set up before the Constitution was passed. Nothing stopped the Government from bringing the Bill then. Nothing stopped them from bringing it a day after the Constitution was passed. The Government has dragged its feet on police reforms and that is why I salute Kenyans for passing the Constitution which has compelled the Government to finally lay the Bill on the Table of the House. The Bill is well thought out. I have gone through it and I think it is revolutionary. For the first time, it is accepting the principle that within the appointments in the Police Force, not more than two-thirds of either gender shall be considered whether for recruitment, or for the top positions. It is truly a progressive Bill to this extent. I wonder why the same Cabinet would think that this principle is impossible to apply when it comes to the election of Members of Parliament. I think they should ask the Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security to help them in the implementation of this Clause because he is way ahead of his time. I want to congratulate him. I also noticed that the command of the Police Force is now in the hands of the National Security Council. Our Police Force has finally been freed from political manipulation. This, again, is fundamental. We have had problems in this country, especially in 2007/2008, where most Kenyans felt that we had lost control of the Police Force, and where people blamed the Force in some areas for acting in a partisan manner. That can be traced to different political interests within the country. For the first time, the Force is freed and even the hiring of the Inspector-General will be open, transparent and subject to parliamentary approval. This will ensure that whoever is appointed Inspector- General realizes that they owe their position to Kenyans. That is because it is Kenyans who will be giving out the job through this Constitution and through their representatives. Clause 10 is very progressive. For the first time, we are talking about human rights in the police Bill. We know that we have gone through very hard times with extra- judicial killings where it is believed that over 2,000 young men have been killed by the police under the guise of maintenance of law and order. The Bill, for the first time, is helping us to instill in the Police Force a culture of human rights. I looked at Clause 95 which prohibits torture. Again, every police officer being recruited will know that torture is illegal. It is not just torture, but also inhuman and degrading treatment. I have looked at this Bill. It has penalties for a police officer who unlawfully inflicts torture or subjects a citizen to inhuman and degrading treatment. This Bill also recognizes that police officers have human rights, just like everybody else. I have seen in Clause 103 that it becomes a serious offence to assault a police officer. We have seen images on television of police officers being assaulted while trying to arrest people. Recently, a traffic police officer was trying to arrest a truck driver. Members of the public watched as the police officer got assaulted by people whom he was trying to arrest. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think that even as citizens, we will also realize that it is a serious crime to assault a police officer or obstruct them while on their duty. I think this Bill, for the first time, is balancing the rights of the law enforcers with the rights of the citizens. I have also noticed that this Bill is invoking the Chapter on human rights in the Constitution, and that is really very good. Cases of police officers who abuse power are addressed by this Bill. We know that, other than politicians, other citizens can also corrupt police officers to abuse their powers and to punish their opponents. It is now a criminal offence for a police officer to abuse power. Any officer who acts contrary to the law will have this Act to answer to. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think all the issues that we have been talking about with regard to the police have been taken care of. Police officers are forbidden from engaging in business that conflicts with their duties. Imagine how many police officers have matatus and who therefore, terrorize the other matatu business people because they want their matatus to get the business first. Imagine the many police officers who have bars and, therefore, harass other bar owners so that their bars may profit. This is a Bill that is saying: “Choose your profession.” If you want to be a police officer, be a professional police officer. If you want to be a business person, get out and do business like other people. I think this will help us go a long way in streamlining issues of discipline within the Force. Finally, I want to salute and laud this Bill for creating several institutions. The Bill has created not just a National Security Command, but also, it has envisaged an independent oversight authority for the police. That way, when police are accused of excesses, whether torture, unlawful killings or any other issue, it is not fellow police officers who will investigate them. Investigations now will be carried out by the Independent Oversight Authority. As I have said, there is co-ordination of the various forces. There will be coordination between the Administration Police and the regular police because they will be under one Inspector-General. There will be coordination between them and the Criminal Investigations Department. Another very good feature is the issue of co-operation with foreign jurisdictions. We are now having cases seeking to extradite Kenyans to other jurisdictions. The courts are taking their time in making decisions, probably, because there is no clear guideline. This law now mandates the police to co-operate beyond the borders. With those many remarks, I want to support this very timely Bill."
}