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{
    "id": 590048,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/590048/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 342,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have gone through the list of the team of 11 Senators who have been suggested here. Six of them are lawyers, one is a medical doctor, I am a mathematician and the remaining three are social scientists. We hope that in the three months that have been suggested, this mixture of professionals will sample and visit some of the correctional centres where strange things normally happen as we have heard. We even hear that strange text messages sometimes emanate from prisons threatening people. The Cyber Crime Unit (CCU) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has tried to investigate such issues. Some prisoners recently threatened a friend of mine and the messages were traced all the way to Kisumu County’s Kodiaga Prison. They are the ones who know how to threaten and blackmail people. In the year 2010 when the new Constitution was promulgated, the Ministry of Education came up with a commission to align the education sector to the new Constitution. The commission was led by Prof. Douglas Odhiambo and in 2012, Prof. Ongeri who was the Minister form Education then, launched a document that was written by that commission. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, as the Mover of this Motion said, I am yet to see existing legislations on correctional services aligned to the new Constitution of Kenya, 2010. We have officers at Jogoo House and at the Prisons Headquarters yet this has not been done. This is the right time for the Senate and Parliament in general to generate a law that will be compliant to the international standards on the rights of detained persons. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is a pity that inmates are trained on carpentry and masonry in the correctional facilities but they are not allowed to practice in building better prison facilities for themselves and housing for the warders. The inmates should also be taken to the remote counties to construct schools and in the process earn some little for money for doing the work. I know some inmates from counties which experience food shortage, are in prison because of food, and even when they are released, they commit crime so that they are taken back to prison. Now that we have counties, we can also bring change by utilizing the skills of the inmates. The proposed prison reforms are similar to those of the National Youth Service (NYS). Rather than have inmates in Gilgil eating for free in the prison, we should utilize their manpower by making them work. It is unfortunate to hear that some of them are taken to go herd cows at the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) farms. The inmates should be taught how to farm and not look after cows. They should be taken to Turkana, Mandera and other dry counties to work. The other day when we went to Mandera, we saw a river that runs throughout the year, the inmates can be used there to do farming activities. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, why do we vote Government money to feed people who are not giving any returns? We need to make the correction of inmates meaningful by getting maximum output out of them rather than let them enjoy the luxury of sleep, protected environment, free clothes, free soap and many other things. This Motion is timely because the Senate is the right House to deal with these proposed reforms. We heard that Kakamega County taxes chicken and eggs and so the people who steal chicken should not be taken to Shikusa Prison, they should be made to work with the chiefs, sub county and ward administrators. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}