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{
    "id": 370814,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/370814/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 283,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Okoth",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 12482,
        "legal_name": "Kenneth Odhiambo Okoth",
        "slug": "kenneth-odhiambo-okoth"
    },
    "content": "I think two things are important here; the Government has to budget for liability. That it will be held liable and has to pay in a just and quick manner the Kenyans who sue the Government and win such cases. However, we found out, as a Committee, that the Government does not really budget for such liabilities. So, year in, year out, you will hear a Cabinet Secretary say: “Yes, I agree there is an award for Mak’Onyango in which we are supposed to pay Kshs20 million but I do not have a vote head for that amount of money to pay him.” I think it comes back to us, as leaders of the country in our budgeting process to see what we can do in terms of advising and making sure that the Executive and officials of the Government do their job properly so that they do not expose the Government to liability, prosecution and loss of huge monies when judgment is passed against it. This is because that is taxpayers’ money that we are protecting as much as we are fighting for the rights of citizens who have been mistreated or treated poorly by Government officials and have sought justice in our courts. We must also make sure that the Government officials are trained and competent to carry out their duties so that they do not put the Government in jeopardy and liability situations like these. So, those are the two key issues I have been talking about that I think we need to think about carefully and as a member of this Committee I take responsibility for it. I know with our able Chair and other devoted Committee members we will push to see what we can get as a commitment and a quick timeline for hon. Mak’Onyango. He is not the only one, there are others who were mentioned to us. These are people like Mwandawiro Mghanga who have got cases and are suffering from years of torture in prison and wrongful treatment by past governments of this country. We must fix those historical mistakes."
}