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"id": 297951,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/297951/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Odhiambo-Mabona",
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"speaker": {
"id": 376,
"legal_name": "Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo Mabona",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would want to encourage the Minister to listen. Hon. Musila is distracting him, yet I would like him to note the issue of moral or immoral description. One of the things that you have indicated, if you actually look at it from a legal perspective, is misleading. It says that one of the immoral behaviour includes, but is not restricted to sexual intercourse. What you are basically doing here is saying that any person engaging in sexual intercourse, meaning husbands and wives, shall not qualify to be teachers. So, please, if you can consider correcting that because I am sure that, that is not what you intend. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, that Schedule is also not gender sensitive. You have also indicated that one of the immoral behaviour that is excluded is the issue of lesbianism. Lesbianism talks to the female gender. So, I do not know if you think only female teachers are likely to be lesbians. So, I would want the Minister, especially to make reference to the Sexual Offences Act that has very good definitions of sexual harassment and flirtation. Flirtation fits within the issue of sexual harassment. So, you do not necessarily need to define it on its own, especially because you will be getting into very murky waters. If you have teachers who are flirting between themselves willingly, you cannot criminalize it. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would also want to indicate that, again, I know that the Minister is very well intentioned, under Clause 30(2). But it may also lead to discrimination of persons with HIV/AIDS. This is because the Bill is suggesting that when somebody is excluded from teaching because of being unwell, then there is a list that is put. Sometimes everybody knows the persons with HIV/AIDS. So, when you put that list, you will actually be stigmatizing. So, I would also want to urge the Minister to consider revising that. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, again, Clause 31(2) says that if a teacher is removed from the register, for him or her to be reinstated would take 18 months. I am looking at a teacher that has been erroneously removed from the register. Waiting for 18 months is too long. It is denying the teacher access to justice. So, I would really request that we look at it and reduce that timeframe. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, again, I would also want to request and urge that we revise the timeframe for the offences because they are too lenient. Where somebody has committed an offence and you tell them to pay a fine of Kshs100,000, this is really not much. Most people can do a quick harambee and would be out in two minutes. Unless the law is meant to be punitive, it does not serve much purpose. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to laud this Bill because of the issue of access to information. Not many Bills are this bold enough to show that the public is entitled to information, under Article 35 of the Constitution. I am really happy that it is a very progressive Bill. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I also want to talk to the issue of conflict of interest that I have seen in Schedule Two, Section 5. It talks about spouses and conflict of interest in relation to spouses. A lot of people do not realize that every Kenyan is entitled to a job. They presume that if I am related to a person in high places, I cannot apply for a job for whatever reason. I know, for instance, that some of the persons that have been ever targeted about these issues are the Prime Minister, President and Ministers. If their relatives are qualified, including mine, then they can apply for these positions. But if the Minister or any of those people is sitting in the panel, then they must declare, so that it is known. Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing wrong because they are Kenyans and qualified. There is absolutely no reason we should exclude a certain category of Kenyans from accessing certain opportunities. Indeed, some of us, as Members of Parliament, were saying the other day that we have relatives who are qualified, but do not apply for positions because we are so careful. We are over-careful that if my sister is qualified and applies for a job, then people would say: “You are only giving your sisters,” even when I am not involved. So, really we should not demonize ourselves and our relatives just because we happen to be in the public. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}