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{
    "id": 620609,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/620609/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 333,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Oyugi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 444,
        "legal_name": "Augostinho Neto Oyugi",
        "slug": "augostinho-neto-oyugi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. It is nice seeing you in the New Year on the Chair. I appreciate. This Bill is of great importance to the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights that I am a Member of. I am happy that the Member for Ol Jorok, Hon. John Waiganjo and Hon. Ken Okoth, Members of the caucus, are all here. The co-conveners of the Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights are all here to give support to this Bill. This Bill will help very many Kenyans. I like the definition of the word “indigent” because it simply shows that the people who are targeted by this Bill are Kenyans who need justice, and their issues prosecuted in courts of law, but they are not able to afford it. The Long Title of the Bill shows that the Bill is supposed to give adherence to Articles 19, 48 and 50(2) of the Constitution. Those are Articles in the Bill of Rights, which essentially means that this Bill gives effect to Articles that enumerate human rights issues. Having said that, the reason why I tried to underscore that particular importance is because of some of the provisions of the Bill, which I will be speaking to slightly later on. Some of the provisions of this Bill seek, in one way or the other, to deny the cardinal role which the Bill is supposed to be playing, which is denying legal aid because of several provisions. You want to bear me witness that Article 24 of the Constitution shows how limitation of rights ought to happen. Article 50 of the Constitution makes the right to a fair hearing a constitutional right. The best way to limit this is under Article 94 of the Constitution which shows that you can do that within the meaning of law, which this Bill tries to do. This shows that you cannot limit that particular right by taking away the core content of that very right. That is why I have certain issues with sections of this Bill, which I will now be speaking to. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, having said that, Article 25 of the Constitution speaks to some rights that are non-derogable. There are some rights that you cannot take away. Whatever you want to do to them, you cannot take them away. The right to fair hearing is one of those rights that you cannot derogate. Essentially, it simply means that once you qualify for legal aid, then that particular right cannot be denied. You can only show that you are a member in 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."
}