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{
    "id": 541876,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/541876/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 148,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Tong’i",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2611,
        "legal_name": "Richard Nyagaka Tongi",
        "slug": "richard-nyagaka-tongi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to speak to this Bill, which addresses the concerns of Kenyans today. I agree with what the speakers who have spoken before me have said that this is a very timely Bill that addresses our concerns and even our future concerns. Considering the Al Shabaab menace that we have in the country today, there would never have been a better time to have this Bill coming to the Floor of the House. We need to enhance it so that we can include scenarios such as what we had in Garissa recently. We are all aware of the many people who have lost their lives and I think that this Bill will in some way address this concern. There are sections I would want us to enhance when we come to the point of amendments. For example, in some sections, the Bill states that if somebody is found to have committed an offence related to this Bill, he or she will be fined Kshs500,000 or two years imprisonment or both. I find Kshs500,000 to be too lenient in view of the fact that the offence is so destructive and people who suffer from it are likely to be injured or permanently disabled. Therefore, the Kshs500,000 we are talking of as a fine, in my view, might not be sufficient. I appreciate that there is not enough money on earth that can compensate humanity but again I know there are some money which would make your burden a little easier than the Kshs500,000 that we are talking about. When we get to that point of amendment, I would want to propose an amendment that victims who suffer through these offences committed under the Bill, the Government of the day whose power and whose mandate is to protect people and their property, should compensate them. I have in mind the students we lost recently in Garissa. The parents are hurting. I know some of the parents who had sold their land everything in the family to ensure that their children have gone to school. These children’s sin was to be found in a place, which according to the Al Shabaab, was not right. So, they were killed. I want to imagine that if we were to let go that kind of a case without compensating the family members, we will do them damage that is permanent. My proposal is that when we get to the amendments, we make it easier for the parents who lost their children, even if it means implementing the amendment retrospectively. I attended some of those burials and they were extremely painful. I know how much those parents had sacrificed 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."
}