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{
    "id": 486181,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/486181/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 302,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speaker, if you require me to go to a court and confirm that I have been beaten, I can confirm here that I will not do so. I would rather suffer in silence. Approaching weekend in the manner we are doing, if you looked at clubs around KENCOM House in Nairobi and elsewhere, you will see very big Mercedes Benz and four-wheel-drive vehicles. Those are men sleeping in vehicles because they are being beaten at home. I have shared on this Bill with several colleagues in Parliament. People are being beaten here but we will never secure conviction because the law of evidence requires corroboration. There must be a party other than yourself to confirm to the court that you were beaten. This being a domestic relationship, if you require corroboration – women know when they beat us – there will be no conviction. Men know when they fight with their women; that there will be no conviction. Therefore, people will be suffering when searching for a third party. Unless we lower the standards and remove corroboration--- Of course, we may move forward to a level where we can shift the burden of proof in some of these cases. When a man like me says: “I have been beaten,” why would you not believe him? When as an African man I reach the stage of saying, “I was beaten last night---” Sometimes we should shift the burden of proof and move forward. Those who are passionate about this Bill need to provide a requirement for private hearing, or what we call in law, “in camera proceedings,” in this Bill. We have proposed to delete Clause 35 of the Bill in our effort to speak about people who should be in court when such matters are being dealt with. It should be simple and hon. (Ms.) Wahome would agree that we just provide that in all the cases concerning domestic relationships, and more so if they have a criminal dimension. Let me cry in private but not outside in public, with the general public having access to me. Hon. Speaker, let me talk about something that is also important. In a Bill like this one--- This is something hon. Nyasuna, my county Member of Parliament, must listen to. Anybody looking at this Bill may think that there is a lot of duplicity because people are saying that there is a Penal Code and a Sexual Offences Act. Remember, we are saying that this Bill is processed strictly for those who find themselves in the domestic arena or in a domestic relationship. Therefore, repetitions may be necessary. We do not want The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}