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"id": 442382,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/442382/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "June 17, 2014 SENATE DEBATES 32 Sen. Wako",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this debate. First, I wish to join my colleagues in conveying my sincere condolences to all those who have died, to all those who have been injured and to all those who have lost their properties. Indeed, it is a very sad day for the Republic of Kenya that this has happened. I am extremely sad. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when it happened, I had just arrived from Busia County and I could not believe it. I agree here completely with those of my colleagues who have talked about overhauling the security system. I fully agree with the Senate Majority Leader, the Chairperson of the Committee on Devolution and others. It does appear to me that we lost our opportunity after Westgate. To me, Westgate was a wakeup call to all Kenyans on issues of terrorism and organized criminality. If you may remember when a similar situation happened in the United States of America on 11th September, 2011, the President galvanized the entire nation so that any American, wherever he was, was aware of the dangers of terrorism and, in fact, he became a patriot to defend his country. There we failed. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the American President also restructured and overhauled the security apparatus and brought it together under one chain of command as it were. The reporting systems were also reformed. I am sure that happened. Therefore, I agree with those who have called for a complete restructuring of the security apparatus, not only in terms of the structures, but also in terms of the personnel from the top down. I also agree with Sen. Muthama; maybe this is the time that an opportunity can be opened for the security apparatus in this country to be consistent with our Constitution. If you read our Constitution, it says whether it is the army, the police or all the security apparatus apart from the civil service generally, must reflect the face of Kenya. Maybe the time has now come when the President should actually do that so that the security apparatus in this country must have the confidence of the people. Mr. Speaker, Sir, part of the problem in dealing with the criminal justice system is that we have not really succeeded because when an event like this happens, everybody immediately appears to know who is responsible, who has caused it and who is to be blamed even before the blood of the victims has dried. Therefore, those who came to the conclusion that this was a political thing at the very beginning when the attack has just ended maybe at about 3.00 a.m. and by 5.00 p.m. are making the allegation---. They have not even been there and they had not even received the reports from there because investigations are going on, but they are already coming to conclusions that this was a political decision. When the phrase “this was political” is used, it means that investigations then become prejudiced or hampered because the investigators will not now go there to find the culprits, but to prove the point that this was political. Criminal investigations must be objective. We must not be prejudiced. Therefore, a statement like that at the very beginning of investigations coming from a person of authority, it might comprise investigations. We are not quite sure whether we shall get to the root of the matter of these investigations. I hope we shall get to the root of the matter because we do not want another Westgate or Mpeketoni to come up again in the very near future. Of course, it came again last night, but I hope that will put an end to that issue. Mr. Speaker, Sir, let us avoid--- 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."
}