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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill looks huge, but when you dissect and look through it, again, it is very simple. There is already a law that basically, regulates how our people in uniform behave. That is what is being amended. When you go through the Bill, clause by clause, you actually realize that we have a professional force, what is now, the Defence Force. It used to be Armed Forces but we changed it to Defence Forces, to re-emphasize the need for defending our motherland. We have given, obviously through the Constitution and this law, more definitions and clarifications in terms of what they can do within and outside our boundaries. Our military can now be deployed to restore order within Kenya, but more importantly, it also specifies what they can and cannot do. For example, in some places we have heard shopkeepers complain all their businesses have been looted after some military operation. All these things have been taken care of so that no soldier will ever, on the excuse of an operation, end up attacking or looting civilians’ property. All these things have been taken care of to ensure that people do what they need to do and not interfere with the others. Obviously then, subordinating the military and civil authority and how that works together has all been done, again in line with the Constitution. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, again, I also want to confirm that this is one of the Bills that we spent countless hours on, discussing with all the various stakeholders, in a joint meeting with the Cabinet subcommittee that was looking at this with the Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC), Kenya Law Reform Commission, Defence people themselves and all the other stakeholders who looked through this. I am sure that our own Committee in Parliament has also gone through this and will be bringing the amendments that they have agreed on, for us to consider. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I really do not want to go through the Bill. Like I said, I am privileged to have sat in the meeting and enjoyed learning in-depth into how our military operates and benefited from the discussion that was taking place. I can confirm from the Cabinet position that we have done this--- There may be room for improvement and I believe that, that is why it is here in this House. If there is any amendment, hopefully when we finish this debate today, tomorrow we can then look at it in the Committee and give the Kenyan people the law that will help to regulate our Defence Forces into the future. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to second."
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