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{
    "id": 647777,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/647777/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 250,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kaluma",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1565,
        "legal_name": "George Peter Opondo Kaluma",
        "slug": "george-peter-opondo-kaluma"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. We are not bewitched. I want to request Hon. Tonui to sit so that I can answer him. We are passing this law as a requirement of the Constitution. Hon. Tonui should know that it cannot be unconstitutional. I believe we hold a very special place in the history of this country when it will be ultimately written. This law was to be passed two years after the promulgation of the new Constitution, like the other laws we have had to pass as the 11th Parliament. It is now falling upon our shoulders to do so. I wish Hon. Tonui and my other brothers and sisters who are yet to speak listened to Hon. Ochieng. I believe he stole my speaking notes. We can have a rogue Executive in this country but if the Judiciary is good and independent, then we will survive. It has been said before that we can even have a very rogue Parliament but luckily, I am privileged to serve in a Parliament that puts the interests of the people under our charge upfront. If we have an independent Judiciary, we are safe and we continue to be Kenyans. From the beginning of this year and more so, at the level of the Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, this is the fourth legislation concerning the Judiciary we have brought forth to push through. We dealt with the High Court (Organisation and Administration) law the other day and, at the same time, we dealt with the law relating to the Court of Appeal, the Small Claims Court, the Magistrates’ Courts and today, we are talking about the Judiciary Fund Bill. Judicial independence is a complicated animal and so, I forgive Hon. Tonui if he says it is too late to understand and appreciate what we are dealing with. Judicial independence is not about the independence of a judge or a magistrate in decision-making. It is the independence of functions, the physical and financial independence of the Judiciary. More so, the latter is very crucial; the financial independence of the Judiciary. Looking back in history, there was a time when the best courts were only found in Nairobi. Why was it so? This is because Kamiti Maximum Security Prison and Nyayo Torture Chambers were in Nairobi and so, you had a single court into which you could wheelbarrow people as late as now and rush them to Nyayo Torture Chambers. If the magistrate was in a good mood, those people would be released and the detention order would be signed outside the court. With the Government that came in 2002, the country has seen a lot of investments in the Judiciary. As a Committee, we are aspiring for a situation where each and every county will have 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."
}