Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 665390,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/665390/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 275,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "outside and works in the Judiciary, the Chief Justice; I assume what he did here yesterday was a final judgment. This is the “Upper” House. That is what he articulated. I was very happy to listen to his speech. I hope many Kenyans listened to this speech. The speech should be circulated to every citizen in Kenya so that they know what the Senate stands for and what it means. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have a lot of problems in this country as far as dispensation of justice is concerned. We have 48 county headquarters. Some lack proper structures. For example, a number of courts in some counties and sub counties leave a lot to be desired. It pains me to hear some leaders saying Kerugoya has the best facilities in terms of courts. It is just like many other law courts that we have in the country. It was not done by the current Chief Justice. It was done before. So, it is important to note that. The other thing is that there are some courts you can easily see the presiding Judge because they are dilapidated. We cannot even refer to them as courts. They are semi-permanent structures. The Chief Justice should have come up with a policy to upgrade some of these structures they refer to as law courts. They are far below to be referred as such. We also have a transition gap. As I speak, I cannot say whether there will be a Chief Justice in office from tomorrow. There should have been a proper transition system. This system should have been put in place earlier; say, six months so that we avoid creating a vacuum when the Chief Justice exits the scene. This was not done. We should not repeat it in future because this was a serious omission. . In addition, we have many pending cases before our courts. For example, the Senate went to court over development fund offices. This matter has been pending for the last three years. We also have the case of the Early Childhood Education (ECD). This matter has been lying in the High Court. It has never been decided yet we have devolved functions and devolved funds. Most of the counties cannot employ ECD teachers. The court has not pronounced itself on the matter. Does it mean that some of these cases are so complicated that they take three or four years? If there is something else, it should be streamlined so that urgent matters are handled by the courts with the urgency that they deserve. It is important, therefore, to note that we need to know the outcomes of these cases. It is sad to note that cases involving the rich are dispensed with immediately. In most cases, the rulings are made in favour of the rich. However, when a case involves a poor person who have stolen a chicken or broken a glass in a bar, the fine is astronomical. They are fined heavily. People who manipulate books of accounts, squander or steal public funds to the tune of billions are set free or not even asked to account for it. So, there is a lapse and the Chief Justice should have told us exactly if the High Court and other courts in Kenya are addressing these issues. He should have told us whether you are rich or poor or whatever colour, justice is the same to everybody. It should not be a preserve for some and a detriment to others. Justice should be applied uniformly and people should be subjected to one common law; the law of mankind. Laws should not be applied differently to discriminate against others. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to support. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"
}