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{
    "id": 473629,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/473629/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 188,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Waiganjo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2644,
        "legal_name": "John Muriithi Waiganjo",
        "slug": "john-muriithi-waiganjo"
    },
    "content": "and expeditious dispensation of justice. It says that a victim shall not be discriminated against on the basis of race, colour, gender, age or language. So, it just says that there shall be fair hearing. It only emphasizes what is within our Constitution. I also see that apart from giving effect to Article 50(9) of the Constitution, it also emphasizes the provisions of Article 50(8). It appears to be telling judicial officers that in certain instances and cases, judicial officers, or the presiding judge, may ask the public to leave her or his court or the galleries of the court generally. This is where a victim is a minor. I am happy that this Bill also gives meaning to and defines vulnerable victims. It also prescribes special justice for vulnerable victims. The vulnerable victims are children, for instance, who have been sexually abused and people with disabilities. We have matters that come before courts where victims, who also happen to be witnesses, will not be comfortable to give evidence in a court where there are people in the galleries. So, this Bill emphasizes on the protection of the dignity of victims. When I talk of victims, I also mean witnesses. There is need to also have combined programmes for witnesses and victims as happens in other jurisdictions. This Bill provides for some of the things that we do not see provided for in our other statutes. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am looking at the application of this Bill at Clause 5. It appears to be going beyond the boundaries of this country. It is a good thing because we have progressively seen crimes being committed between countries. There are a lot of crimes that are committed not within the jurisdiction of this country, but a crime will be committed in other places. For instance, slave trade thrives in some places. We do not enforce our laws in Kenya in respect to it, but slave trade is a real crime that goes on even within this country. If we were keen to enforce our laws and to investigate and gather proper intelligence, we would know that slavery is real within this country as well as human trafficking. Clause 5 says that this law will apply to persons in Kenya irrespective of nationality, country of origin or immigration and people outside this country and it is very helpful. We also know that there is a lot of sexual slavery. Some of the establishments that we have in this country operate under the guise of a homecare. When you look deeper into it, you find that it is actually sexual slavery that goes on within those establishments. So, it is good to know that we have a Bill now that will look beyond the Sexual Offences Act of 2006 and at the same time counter trafficking in persons. I think this Member has done us proud to bring this Bill; it has come just in time. Also on protection of victims, I am looking at instances where we have civil war, or something similar to the post-election violence (PEV) that we had, and then we have a lot of victims all at once as a consequence of that state of affairs. What happens in those instances? There is a provision under Part III, Clause 6(4); it states that there shall be a register of victims."
}