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{
    "id": 588854,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/588854/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 90,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "I wanted to tell my brothers that there are cases in which I still appear in court, not as a party, as some of you think, but as an advocate for people. I have seen cases where orders are made for instance, evicting one spouse from the matrimonial home ex parte . In executing the eviction, the police go there with guns in the presence of the children, and things are taken to a leaky storage or to auctioneer’s places. You question whether it is evicting the man, woman, spouse or evicting the goods or the children’s property. We may take them for granted but the moment the child sees guns against the head of their father, if it is the father who was being evicted; the moment the children see police officers who are more powerful than their father or mother, you have destroyed the sense of security of that child. Such mistakes and errors happen because some of the magistrates have not had real life experiences on matters being taken to the Judiciary. I will be urging my colleagues in Parliament that in the best case scenario, matters concerning the children of this country and disputes around them ought to be heard by the High Court. But we recognise that we do not have High Courts across the country yet we needed to discuss these issues whenever disputes arise. Let us agree in principle that we enhance jurisdiction over this important subject matter, the children of Kenya, to a principal magistrate upwards and not a resident magistrate or a senior resident magistrate. There is the proposal under Clause 8 before I deal with the matter you are raising. I know our good Speaker, being the best lawyer we have around, has looked at it. Clause 8 seeks to bring into application the provisions of Article 23 (2) of the Constitution. The intention, if I were to read it to Members, is to enable magistrates dealing with matters where there is an evident breach or violation of fundamental freedoms to intervene straightaway. An accused person is before court, for instance, saying he was kept in custody beyond one week. Why are we still proposing that the magistrate cannot deal with it in this Bill? Because you think the magistrate cannot deal with it instantly since it is something that can be confirmed, you take the matter to the High Court. You take the matter to the High Court, proceedings are not going on, and you are waiting for the High Court with your heavy burden to discharge a simple thing which a magistrate with proper jurisdiction would look at. We will be proposing amendments under Clause 8 to see how we will bring into action Clause 23 (2) now that the light is signalling red."
}