GET /api/v0.1/hansard/entries/594560/?format=api
HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 594560,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/594560/?format=api",
"text_counter": 157,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Tong’i",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 2611,
"legal_name": "Richard Nyagaka Tongi",
"slug": "richard-nyagaka-tongi"
},
"content": "takes to ensure the safety of the people who have been put under our care in terms of leading them. We all know that curbing insecurity is a concern for everybody else. It is not enough to have this technology in place and then sit back and say that we have done our part and so, the people of Kenya are safe and secure. We know that we need to do a lot of civic education to educate our people to understand that security starts with them. If we have somebody in the family whose behaviour is not understood, or we know some things that the Government does not know, we have a duty, as Kenyans, to come forth and report to the relevant authorities so that the necessary law can be used to manage those kinds of situations. With that technology, my humble submission is that we will be able to give watchmen firearms because they are the first line of protection for this country. Most families and businesses, especially the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), have employed watchmen who are only equipped with rungus at most. The people who come to steal from those places come fully armed with firearms. There is a case last week in Eastleigh where a watchman was tied with a rope because there is nothing he could have done. The people who came to rob were all armed and it would be stupid and foolhardy for anybody to resist that kind of attempt to steal when you know you are ill equipped to handle armed thugs. With such technology, we should arm the watchmen of this country. That way, we will be able to control how they use the firearms and deter petty thieves who take advantage of the poor arrangements in terms of security to come and mess our country and give it a bad name - as one which is insecure. No wonder one of the presidential candidates in the United States of America (USA) yesterday quoted Kenya as an example of a failed state because, in his opinion, we are not able to protect our people and we are stealing from ourselves. That was not a good example. When we can enhance security, Kenya will not be given those kinds of examples as a case study of a failed state. Technology has been used everywhere in the world to ensure security of systems and enabling the system to conform to what the society expects. As a country, we should embrace the new technology. For example, the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has been used in tracking. We are using it today in Kenya to track goods when they are on transit. We use GPS to track goods which go out of the country. I know some Kenyans have gone a notch higher to even track our partners to know where they are. That is negative use of technology. It is time we embraced technology in a positive way and for the good of the country. We should ensure that the people of Kenya are safe and protected and, more so, enable the security system in the country, especially watchmen, to be given firearms so that they are more equipped and prepared to handle thieves who break into our homes. They take advantage of the gap in terms of security arrangements. That will complement what the policemen are doing because they can only do so much. One policeman is supposed to protect about 10,000 people in Kenya. That is not humanly possible. The international standards recommend a ratio of one police officer to about 2,000 people. Since our economy cannot sustain that, we could get good technology. If this Motion is developed into a Bill and becomes law, then we will use it to ensure that the people of Kenya are protected. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am grateful that you gave me the opportunity to talk about this wonderful Motion. I support it."
}