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    "id": 322912,
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    "content": "(2) in each division, the Officer Commanding Police Division shall be responsible for traffic matters within the division. Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, I want to plead with the House, because this was a fairly controversial matter during the debate, and that is why I sought to clarify it. In order to transform the Traffic Department of the Police, this amendment is the most important we would have done this evening. My intention is that the biggest problem is now the issue of motor cycles and we have no way of policing them in the villages. Where I come from, every division has a hospital for people who have been maimed by motorbikes. All we are trying to do is to give the issue of traffic policing to be an issue that it taken care of by every police officer. We would want the incoming police Commission to embed it in their training. Secondly, Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, just so that I am brief, the top brass of the police all concurred with me because they say the OCPD whom we are trying to help take responsibility for traffic matters, right now, has no role in traffic issues even under their jurisdiction. That is a big anomaly. The traffic commandant in a police base reports to the provincial traffic commandant who in turn reports to the National Traffic Commandant who only reports to the Commissioner of Police. So, if you walked into Siaya Police Station today and got the OCPD about a traffic matter, they will tell you: “I will talk to the base commander.” So, it is a big thing. When Maj. Ali became the Commissioner of Police, he did that. He made the OCPDs responsible for traffic. For a while, we almost curbed the menace of traffic accidents. We are not abolishing it like that, but we are saying that it creates room for all policemen to be in charge of traffic matters. Another thing which they have said is that if you are a female and you want to go to traffic, somebody must abuse you; somebody must sleep with you. It is a big menace that we must face. If you are a male and you want to stay in that traffic department, you must pay. But if you leave it, it works everywhere around the world. We sat with the Committee and officers from the Minister’s Office and they saw the point."
}