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{
    "id": 416249,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/416249/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 172,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this amendment Bill. I have to say that I oppose the proposed amendment with reasons. Since the convening of the Eleventh Parliament of this country, nothing has captured the attention of this House more than security. A week hardly passes before we raise issues concerning the security of our people. We have had occasion to give clear examples to show that insecurity in Kenya is now totally rampant. It happens everywhere. Carjackers are all over the place. I am not convinced that the amendments, as proposed, are not entirely unconstitutional. Looking at the provisions of Articles 245 and 246 of the Constitution, there appears to be a lacuna. Before we even attempt to pass these amendments, we should have the courage to address these constitutional issues. We have said before that the Constitution has areas that need to be addressed. I thank my good friend and neighbour, hon. Jakoyo Midiwo. We need a national dialogue. During the national referendum on the Constitution, some of us happened to be on the “Yes” side. Even as we pushed for the Constitution then, we acknowledged that there were parts of it that were not entirely good. Hon. Speaker, it is time for us to candidly come forward and address those areas. We are getting entangled by provisions of the Constitution, which appear unclear or contradictory. We now have a pure presidential system of government. We have come to this House and asked that the people in charge of providing security, which is the ultimate responsibility of any government in power, appear before us so that, as the National Assembly, we can have a dialogue with them. They can tell us the areas where they are failing. This is because security in Kenya is going, literally, to the dogs. I sympathised with my colleague, hon. Kimani Ngunjiri, when he talked about these issues. When one of us gets into problems, it is not right for us to treat it as if it is hon. Ngunjiri’s problem. It can happen to all of us. Let us not beat about the bush. The purpose of these amendments is to try and give more powers to the Inspector General (IG). Why are we giving more powers to the IG, who in more than one occasion has shown that he has nothing but contempt for the Members of this House? We have seen it in many occasions. Hon. Speaker, therefore, before we even attempt to give the IG more powers, let us look at the operational structures of the National Police Service (NPS). Many times, we blame the junior officers of the NPS and say that they are not doing what they are supposed to do. Even in management, they tell you that before you task a worker with a task, you have to give them the necessary tools to do the work. The situation of our police officers in this country is very The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}