Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 555497,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/555497/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 254,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kisoi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2350,
        "legal_name": "Michael Manthi Kisoi",
        "slug": "michael-manthi-kisoi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. This Bill is well thought out. Kenyans must realize that they have an obligation to observe the rule of law in whichever country that they visit. The duty to respect the laws of the countries that we visit is not discretionary. It is obligatory. Therefore, as much as we debate on how we need to repatriate our prisoners to continue serving their sentences in this country, we must also realize that the duty to uphold the rule of law in any country that you visit is so significant and paramount that it supersedes anything else. The interests of the citizens of this nation override any other interests. We know that this country has taken tremendous steps in trying to reform our prisons. That is quite positive considering the past situation and the current situation. It is obvious that a lot needs to be done to improve our prison environment, so that our prisoners can serve their terms as human beings. We have an obligation under the human rights treaties and other reforms in our Constitution to uphold human dignity. However, as much as we are talking about repatriating the prisoners, our prisons are very congested due to petty offenders. Something needs to be done in our country, so that we can offload that economic burden in our prisons. Petty offenders can be given home sentence or community service judgments. This will ensure that our prisons continue to be institutions that are geared towards rehabilitating prisoners, but not as avenues and houses for punishment. It is important that we look at this law very objectively. I have perused through certain sections in this Bill that have made careful consideration of this issue as we go forward. For instance, Clause 36(1) talks of amnesty. This is very dangerous. It reads:- “During the period in which the sentence of imprisonment is served in Kenya by a prisoner transferred to Kenya under this Act, the prisoner may be pardoned or granted any amnesty or commutation of sentence of imprisonment that could be granted under Kenyan law if the sentence of imprisonment had been imposed for an offense against the Kenyan law”. I also refer to Clause 10(3). Some of those discretionary powers contained in this Bill could give rise to impunity and a lot of corruption. We are only giving one person the authority and the power to make judgement and decision on whether someone can be pardoned or needs to be given an opportunity to be heard. So, as we look at this Bill, we must be very careful during certain stages that amendments are brought to ensure that 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."
}