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{
    "id": 407127,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/407127/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 204,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Nyasuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 590,
        "legal_name": "Gladys Atieno Nyasuna",
        "slug": "gladys-atieno-nyasuna"
    },
    "content": "I also had an opportunity to read the report. I am speaking to the spirit of the amendments that were introduced to this House, through the two amendment Bills. If these matters were corrected by the Committee, then we will be amenable to these amendments, particularly when they come on the Floor of this House. I have prepared my notes on the basis of the amendment Bills and I wanted to express myself with that spirit so that we do not have Bills being introduced and us having to push and pull. The people who intend to bring Bills to this House should really look broadly at the genesis of where we are coming from and going as a country. The Chair will just indulge me as I speak on the historical issues of the matter of police reforms. The National Taskforce on Police Reforms chaired by hon. Justice Philip Ransley, provided a good basis for the reforms that we see in the current Constitution. It was clear that recruitment in the police is a big issue and this reform sought to cure the process of recruitment of police. For many years, the final say on recruitment of police lay with the Commissioner of Police and the Administration Police (AP) Commandant. The report said that the recruitment of both Kenya Police and Administration Police has increasingly been characterized with allegations of nepotism, political patronage, favouritism and bribery. When we look at the report by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission that was done later, really it does confirm so, because almost 40 per cent of the Police Force was constituted at the time of the report by just two communities and we do know that the current Constitution in Article 246 (4) is very clear that the composition of the Police Service must reflect the ethnic diversity of this county. The reason we are very firm on this matter, and I am glad that the Committee has looked at some of these issues, is because we do not want to go back on the gains we have made in terms of spreading out all our services and forces showing the face of Kenya. Transfers have also emerged as an area of discontent among the police and it is being used to discipline officers sometimes unfairly. I speak to this issue in this manner because I am sure--- When I look at the Report of the Committee, those policemen at the lowest level have communicated a lot to us on that matter, and they have been very concerned about returning all the powers to the hands of one person. If the Committee has addressed this really, we will be very happy. Looking specifically at the amendments, if you read Articles 8 and 10 of the Police Service Act, they clearly provide for the roles of the Inspector General (IG) as far as the operational mandate of the service is concerned. The spirit of the police reforms is clearly to make it a force of service, so that they live up to their motto “ Utumishi Kwa Wote ”. “ Utumishi” means service. The National Taskforce on Police Reforms that I have referred to earlier was the basis of the reforms in the current Constitution. The Ransley Report was very clear, that the police are poorly equipped, poorly resourced, suffer from low morale due to poor remuneration and other terms and conditions. In general, Kenyans regard police as ineffective and trust levels among them are very low. In the specific amendments, I see the creation of a service board among whose responsibilities will be to determine recruitment, promotions, transfers and discipline. The commission is created to be able to handle some of these responsibilities. Now, there The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}