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{
    "id": 596137,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/596137/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 166,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Kanyua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 981,
        "legal_name": "Priscilla Nyokabi Kanyua",
        "slug": "priscilla-nyokabi-kanyua"
    },
    "content": "In the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, it has become routine for this House, every year, to spot amendments that are not useful. In the last Bill we looked at matters of public benefits organizations were brought in. Luckily, the Leader of the Majority Party withdrew that clause from consideration. As has become the norm this year, this is the third Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill that this House is looking at. We have in good time identified the issues on the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA). I reprimand very much the people who thought that this was wise, or anybody who came up with the idea that it would be useful for the President to appoint the chairperson of the IPOA. That is old thinking. That is the Kenya we are leaving and not the Kenya we are going to. That is not the country we want to be in. Speaking as a member of the Jubilee Coalition, it is very useful every time the police are challenged for us to say we have the IPOA that is looking at that matter. It is true we have a police service that is working and serving, but we have elements within the police service that many times do the wrong things. We have a history of a police service that has been violating rights, that is corrupt and that we need to continuously reform. The only way we can do that is by having IPOA that is helping us to remove the bad apples from the police service. To then purport to take away the independence of the IPOA is to defeat the very argument that we use to confirm to everybody that we are trying to improve the police service. To take away the independence of IPOA is to confirm to everybody that we do not intend in any way to reform the police service. If we intend to reform the police service, we must safeguard the independence of the IPOA, which is a key institution in the reforming of the police service. I like their vision, mission and motto, which is to restore confidence in the police service. The first interface of citizens with their Government is the police service. Many of us in our lifetime will interact with the police service in one way or another. You get involved in an accident, you have to report to the police; you get your items stolen, you have to go to the police; somebody injures, slaps or mishandles you, you have to go to the police. So, the face of the Government that we will see, and the interaction with the Government that we will have is with the police service. When we have a police service that is not utumishi kwa w ote but something else, we have no choice but to reform the institution. I look forward to a time when we will have a professional police service, that is not corrupt and that will help us enforce the law. Other countries have such a police service. We too can have such a police service. The IPOA is a big part of the vision of police reforms that we need to continuously engage in. I support the move to withdraw the sections of this Bill touching on IPOA. I hope that they will never make their way back to this House. Even as we look at that, I also support the views of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs that had as early as yesterday already rejected those proposed amendments. Even if they had come to the Floor, we would have urged the House to agree with the Committee to completely reject all the proposals that were made on IPOA. Having independent institutions in our country is not a bad thing. Having a strong presidency that is delivering as the Jubilee presidency is doing is, of course, a good thing. However, alongside a good and strong presidency are good and strong institutions in many other areas of law and governance. IPOA is leading the way in that direction. In fact, in a discussion we had with IPOA, I am glad they have started thinking about corruption in the police. IPOA has done well on matters of grievous bodily harm and the issue of trigger-happy police officers. 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."
}