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{
    "id": 472890,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/472890/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 272,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Odhiambo-Mabona",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 376,
        "legal_name": "Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo Mabona",
        "slug": "millie-odhiambo-mabona"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Speaker. I take this opportunity to thank all the Members for the support they have given this Bill. I am glad that hon. Kang’ata has spoken last and made very strong points that strengthen this Bill. I am not saying that he is the only one, but because he has been in the criminal justice system as a lawyer for long, he has a shaper eye for imbalances. One of the aims of this Bill is actually to cure those imbalances. When I was practicing I represented women and children a lot and one thing I noticed was the grave imbalances: Our justice system looks more favourably to the accused persons and forgets the victims of crime. Through work that we did in the past we supported the Sexual Offences Bill when I was outside of Parliament. When I came to Parliament I supported the Counter- Trafficking in Persons Act, which deals with very specific victims of crime; but you have a whole array of victims who are not covered by those two pieces of legislation. So, what this Bill seeks to do is to cover that array of victims of crime, who were not covered by that legal framework. I am very happy. I cannot mention every Member by name because all the Members who have spoken have supported this Bill. I want to thank you. I have taken into account what they said. In fact, hon. (Eng.) Gumbo consulted with me, and I was thinking about how to deal with the issue of discrimination. It is provided for constitutionally but only the civil aspect in relation to compensation. How do you deal with the trauma related to that? Those are some of the things I will be looking at when it comes to amendments. Different Members have brought out different aspects that I had not thought about and I am sure that will go a long way in enriching this Bill. I thank the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. I discussed with them this Bill at length. I have spoken with the Office of the Attorney-General, and we have agreed that we could try to merge the body I propose with the Witness Protection Agency, so that they look at issues of victimization and witnesses at the same time. I had a late discussion with the Budget and Appropriations Committee and they were of the same view. We will be looking at the issue of budget and at the same time ensure that very vital service is rendered to the citizens of this country. I thank the Members and beg to move."
}