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{
    "id": 423319,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/423319/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 109,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I do recall that on one occasion, I also represented the current Chief Justice when he was detained without trial. I know that he is also painfully aware of what we are talking about. I also had occasion to represent the Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, when he staged a hunger strike in Shimo la Tewa Prison. He was almost on the verge of death; then some urgent measures were taken. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I do recall the case of Mukaru Ng’ang’a who was at Manyani Prison. He had concluded that he was no longer a human being because he had evolved from the level of human beings to the level of animals and that is why he was taken to a national park in Manyani. When I met him there he had only one request; “because I am going to die here, please arrange for them to bring a priest to bless me before I go”. I am sorry to say that our various pleas to get that man a priest did not succeed. We were not given a priest. When I met him lastly, he said that since they had denied him his personality as a human being and that he had no soul, he made a request that he should not even be treated in accordance with the Constitution of Kenyan then because the Constitution actually prohibited torture and inhuman treatment. He said that he did not even want to be treated in accordance with the laws that other human beings were treated. He said he wanted to be treated in accordance with the law of animals which is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. This Act makes it illegal for any person to put an animal in a cage. So, he said he wants to be treated according to that law because he was virtually being put in a cage. Even that one was rejected. Finally, he died. He was a young man of my age, but he died likely because of frustrations, high blood pressure, blood sugar and very many painful things. I am happy the High Court has come up to award compensation to those who have gone to court. The shame is that even those who have been awarded are not getting the money. Are we waiting for them to die so that this money is not paid? For instance, I know hon. Gitobu Imanyara has been awarded, I think Kshs9 million, Mak’ Onyango has been awarded some money. I believe that even this case of Matiba is going to win because the stroke that he suffered was as a result of being denied medicine for high blood pressure when he was in detention. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we, as a Senate, should stand up to be counted by urging the Government to pay those who have been awarded those compensations so that they can start enjoying the little rest of their lives. There are many others who have not gone to court; for instance, the family of Mukaru Ng’ang’a. They cannot even afford to file a case, but they paid the highest prize for this freedom. The only way we can reach out to those people is to start a compensation fund. We start a fund for all those people who were treated in that manner, those who were detained without trial, those who were tortured, those who were maimed and there are those who were ashamed to come to court to say they were castrated because it is very embarrassing to bring that kind of case in The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}