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{
    "id": 647742,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/647742/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 215,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wambugu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 149,
        "legal_name": "Clement Muchiri Wambugu",
        "slug": "clement-wambugu"
    },
    "content": "achieving and getting the new Constitution. It is one of those small things which normally slip off and we are not able to pick them. But we commend the present Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs for having spotted that. The Bill as set is to assist the Judiciary get financial independence. This is going to help them to be accountable for the funds that we are also giving them. They will have adequate finances for their work, for Parliament to allocate enough resources and also through the collections of fees and fines. When it comes to collection of fines, Kenyans are able to talk about corruption and the type of funds that have been disappearing because of the way the Government has set up it systems. The Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and all other systems that have been put in place for accounting purposes in various arms of Government should also apply to the Judiciary. It becomes funny when you go to court and you are supposed to pay a fine and somebody goes back to his desk to produce a receipt book which you do not know whether it is genuine or not. Somebody scribbles a receipt for you and tells you that you have paid a fine. Most of those funds never get back to the accounts as they are supposed. We need more transparency in the way that fund will be run. It still worries me at this time in this country that access to justice for many Kenyans has still not been achieved and the Judiciary has got a long way to go. For the Government to deliver its services starting from the last Parliament, there was the move that all constituencies will be converted to districts so that Kenyans could have access to Government services at their proper places. I would propose that as we continue funding the Judiciary, we need to devolve this system down to the lowest level even to the constituencies and sub counties so that each and every sub-county gets a Magistrates’ Court. This is because it does not make any sense seeing somebody, for example, in my constituency moving from a place called Kiriaini to Murang’a which is about 25 kilometers or even to Kangema to attend a court case which could be done at Kiriani. We are requesting that the Judiciary establishes a Magistrates’ Court there. Before some of the cases end up in a Magistrates’ Court or any other court, there are so many other processes that take place especially at the grassroots level. We have elderly men who have been appointed by their various clans by the Assistant County Commissioners (ACCs) or chiefs to help within areas of arbitration such as land cases. We request that because the Judiciary will be having enough funds to operate, such wazee at the local level in the villages be looked into so that some of these cases that they handle are facilitated. It is very sad when you see wazee presiding over a case from morning until evening and you find it is the complainant who handles their facilitation. We would like that one to be looked into. As I close, it is rather disappointing because we had the surgery of the Judiciary sometimes back and nothing much has changed. All this happened because of the corruption issues that we used to have in the Judiciary. We had the vetting of the judges and magistrates in this country. If as at now the place has not been cleaned up, then we feel that the Judiciary must have been very corrupt. I do not know which way we could look into it and get a better oversight facility for the Judiciary. The other time we were doing vetting of the same magistrates and then the next issue we hear is that there are corruption cases in the Judiciary. Something had better be done. Either we have an oversight facility or a body that will be overseeing the Judiciary so that we can have more trust in that system. With those few words, I support. 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."
}