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{
    "id": 412796,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/412796/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 548,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Omulele",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2145,
        "legal_name": "Christopher Omulele",
        "slug": "christopher-omulele"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I think debate on this Bill was interrupted when I was on my feet. I had stood and indicated that I was opposed to this Bill. I had also indicated that although I was opposed to it, I had seen some good provisions in it. But the vast majority of the proposed amendments to the various laws that are set out in this Bill have actually forced me to oppose the passing of this Bill. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, speaking on the bad side of the Bill, I have looked at the proposed amendments to the Public Benefits Organizations Act and, honestly, I did not see why we want to control the budgets of NGOs. We know we have had our problems with NGOs in this country. But I do not think that denying them funds from donors outside this country will be the best way to deal with them. I think the work they do is good, and the people they employ are Kenyans. If the funds are used by Kenyans, the only thing we should do is to make the NGOs more accountable, but we should not starve them of funds. For that reason, I will oppose the passing of this Bill. I also want to speak to the proposed amendments to the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, Act No. 3 of 2003. I do not understand why we are proposing to amend Section 26, which empowers the Secretary and the Director to force a Kenyan to provide a statement on their worth. We are all aware of the ruling of a constitutional court in this country in the famous case involving hon. Murungaru; the Director of the EACC had purported to require him to provide a statement on his worth. The court found that this was actually an infringement of his constitutional safeguards. I want to agree with the court in this respect. We have known criminal practice in this country. He who accuses should always be the one to prove his allegations. We are having a situation here where Kenyans can be required to provide information that might implicate them in crimes; I do not think that this would be a proper way of observing constitutional safeguards. I will also speak to the good parts that I have seen in this Bill. I have seen the proposed amendment to the Counterfeits Act. This is a good one, because it is very important for Kenyans to clearly and actively protect intellectual property in this country. This is because intellectual property is a novel thing; protecting it is protecting the foundations of wealth. We should encourage people to be innovative by making sure that other people do not reap from where they have not sown. In this way, we will be doing this country a great service. That is a good proposed amendment in the Bill."
}