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{
    "id": 588702,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/588702/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 153,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mohammed Abass",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2983,
        "legal_name": "Abass Sheikh Mohamed",
        "slug": "abass-sheikh-mohamed"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. I beg to support this Bill. The Bill is very important and has given an opportunity to the many Kenyans who could not access judicial services. The Bill provides for establishment of at least one station in every county. It is actually a very important measure that this Bill has introduced. Many Kenyans used to travel very far to get justice in other places of the country. It also provides dispute resolution mechanisms. In many instances, minor disputes that could be sorted out within the communities used to end up in courts. In most instances there used to be a lot of misjudgments. Most of our judges are not conversant with the community resolution mechanisms and they misjudged because of failure to understand the procedures. This Bill now provides that system and one other thing is that it also protects the judges; that is a very good move. In the past, they used to take responsibility for whatever judgment they made, especially in past governments where judges were not giving fair hearing and treatment. One other thing is ethics. This is a very important thing. Most of the Kenyans up to now believe that for those who cannot afford to get lawyers and other people to represent them, judgment is for sale in courts. But now that there is ethics and work performance contracting, this will also open up the judicial services and most Kenyans will access services. One other thing is giving a station. In the past, when the High Court went on recess, most Kenyans were not able to get timely and fair hearing. Now that this Bill gives an opportunity for the Chief Justice to establish measures for disposal of urgent matters on a priority basis during recess, this is a good move. One other thing that this Bill should include and we will need to bring an amendment is that most Kenyans have hearing problems. There is need for sign language. The other thing is some Kenyans have problems in translating. When prosecutors are presenting their defence, they face language barriers. I think this has been excluded from this Bill and we need to bring an amendment; all courts must have sign language persons to assist those who have hearing problems. The other issue is giving judgment in Kiswahili and English has made most people disadvantaged. As a result, we need to include other vernacular languages where possible, or get somebody who understands the law to translate the language used in court. In the past, ordinary Kenyans would translate and some of the translations would misguide the judgment makers. Many Kenyans have gone to jail because of wrong translation and misjudgment. One other thing is that the Bill creates the family court. Most of the family courts and Kadhis’ Courts are subordinate to the High Court. It is high time that we promoted family courts, Kadhis’ Courts and other subordinate courts to be able to do their judgments under the High Court. The other thing is that in the past we used to hear of files missing and judgments would take so long until a certain time when Kenyans died and others were judged posthumously. Others spend many years and a lot of money seeking justice. Now that the courts have been standardized, this will sort out delays in hearing cases. The other thing is that the Bill does not limit the rights and freedoms of the people; it gives the freedom to be heard and the right to make appeals. However, justice and judicial services in Kenya are very expensive. The cost of hiring a lawyer is very high. The Bill should also provide funds for purposes of helping poor Kenyans, those who cannot afford to hire lawyers, so that they can be given an opportunity to be heard. The Kenyan courts should now be accessible and we must give Kenyans the opportunity to appreciate that they can get a fair hearing in a court. 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."
}