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{
    "id": 499985,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/499985/?format=api",
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    "content": "to be released to Kapedo and the surrounding areas. It was not to look for guns, but to teach them a lesson. You do not look for bandits or guns by unleashing the power of the armed forces of the Republic of Kenya on civilians. That is not the way to do it. The only way to get bandits is, first of all, to use intelligence. You should first know who the bandits could be and where they could be hiding. The next thing is to use the police to find out where the bandits are. They should arrest the bandits if they are arrestable. However, if they resist arrest, then we should use necessary force. That is the training given to the police. The training given to the defence forces is to fight and if possible, destroy the enemy. That is how they are taught and the ideology used by the defence forces all over the world. That is why defence forces are supposed to defend our borders because beyond our borders, there could be enemies. However, within the Republic of Kenya; the four corners of the boundaries of Kenya, the Constitution knew that there were some instances where you could unleash the power of the defence forces. That is in Article 241 of the Constitution of Kenya. The drafters of the Constitution provided for it for good reasons. In Article 241(3)(c ), the Constitution says:- “The defence forces may be deployed to restore peace in any part of Kenya affected by unrest and instability only with the approval of the National Assembly.” That is the test; that there be unrest and instability. Soldiers were massacred. This was a terrible thing. However, I do not know whether there was any instability or unrest. The fact that 50 soldiers have died does not mean that there is unrest and instability in any part of the Republic of Kenya. There is a crime, of course, which has been committed. However, whenever there is instability or unrests, that has to be explained to Parliament. You must explain that there is unrest and instability so that you ask Parliament, as the Commander- in-Chief of the Defence Forces, to deploy officers. If you persuade Parliament, then you deploy. Parliamentarians are the representatives of the people. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces is the Head of State. He has a responsibility to the people who elected him. You cannot assume that the President or the Chief of General Staff of the Defence Forces have more interests in securing peace in this country more than the representatives of people themselves. The mischief that this Constitution was dealing with was this: That, the President can use the defence forces to eliminate a community if he does not like it. If he does not like it, he could say that the community is experiencing instability when there is none and proceed to deal with it. In this case, there was no instability. I think when the President went there; some elders told him that they were sorry that was not their intention."
}