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{
"id": 639178,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/639178/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Mbalu",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 432,
"legal_name": "Jessica N. Mbalu",
"slug": "jessica-mbalu"
},
"content": "by officers of the National Police Service (NPS) on me and 10 other leaders, despite our being unarmed, peaceful and disciplined during our protest. I personally escaped death by a whisker when three teargas canisters were lobbed at my car by one rogue police officer. Several members of the public, including demonstrators and roadside traders, lost property at the hands of the police. The excessive use of force, including wanton use of teargas canisters, has left the Lower Eastern Region in panic and uncertainty. Even more shocking is that those acts of violence were perpetrated by members of the NPS who abandoned all decorum and behaved like goons. This has had a serious repercussion on the public trust and co-operation with NPS. Such unprecedented levels of force were uncalled for and should be condemned in the strongest terms possible. The protests were conducted under Article 37 of the Constitution, which guarantees every Kenyan the inalienable right to peacefully and unarmed demonstrate, picket and present petitions to public authorities. Notification for planned demonstrations and request for security had been made to the necessary authorities and had been assured. However, on the material day, the authorities did not pick calls from any elected leaders. It is, therefore, baffling that those I requested security from, nearly ended my life through the use of deadly force against elected leaders. I do not take this matter lightly because the use of teargas against me and other peaceful Kenyans and, in particular, the hurling of teargas canisters directly at my car was a threat to my life. Hon. Members, you will recall that on Thursday, 23rd September, 2003, in Nigeria, a serving senator and also a former President of the Nigerian Senate, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, died from complications arising from being teargassed by police in the Northern Nigerian city of Kano during an opposition rally two days earlier. I refuse to be sent to my grave in tears. I urge the Speaker to use his powers to increase my personal security; given the chilling events. I also urge the Inspector-General of Police, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and other concerned State organs to commence immediate and thorough investigations on the matter. As a historical note, it should be observed that the B7 Kibwezi-Kitui Road was first surveyed in 1974 and since then, successive governments have been giving unfulfilled promises of tarmacking it. The B7 Road is the only untarmacked Class “B” road in Kenya. The tarmacking of that road has also been subject to over 40 parliamentary questions and petitions by Members of Parliament. This is evidenced by the perusal of the HANSARD records. The first question was asked before the survey of tarmacking of the road in 1974 as Question No. 621 on 19th July 1972 by Hon. Kitonga. The response by the then Assistant Minister for Public Works, Hon. John Keen, was that the road would be re-done with murram when funds were available. In 2011, the Government had earmarked the road as Priority No. 3 after the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) for purposes of financing by the China Government. In 2012, a contractor by the name Sinohydro was introduced to the intended site at Kibwezi by the Vice-President, Hon. Kalonzo Musyoka. It is not clear to the residents of Kibwezi and Lower Eastern why the Government has since never progressed in the implementation of the project. In conclusion, I, therefore, want to assure both my constituents and the county at large that I will continue to use peaceful, legal, civilised and constitutional means to agitate for their rights and to carry out my mandate as a legislator and development-conscious leader. Even as I do this, I urge all State organs to respect and observe the constitutional guarantees to basic rights. This will reduce the ugly incidents like the one we witnessed on 21st March, 2016. 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."
}