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{
    "id": 665995,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/665995/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 143,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Oyugi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 444,
        "legal_name": "Augostinho Neto Oyugi",
        "slug": "augostinho-neto-oyugi"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Hon. Deputy Speaker. I would like to welcome the students in the Speaker’s Gallery, especially Nyabisawa Girls Secondary School, where my sister schooled; and also Lwak Girls from Nyanza. I also welcome all the other people. As I said, cattle rustling is a criminal offence, and it ought to be treated as such. The loss of lives and property and the maiming and raping of women and the attendant destruction that cattle rustling causes ought to be dealt with within the precincts of the laws of Kenya. Also, security ought to be stepped up in the various regions that are always prone to cattle rustling. In this particular age, we need to deal with cattle rustling in a manner that will make it a thing of the past. We cannot discuss cattle rustling many years on end because it is a security issue that can be dealt with by the security apparatus. Let me say a couple of things. I think what Hon. Cheptumo raises in this particular Motion are things that have already been dealt with, within the meaning of various Kenyan laws. He speaks to the compensation of victims, schools and destruction of property. We already have a law called the Victims Protection Act, which creates a special fund that deals with the victims of various offences. I know of the suggestions that there needs to be a resolution to make cattle rustling a national disaster and also create a fund for the victims of the menace. Since there is already a law creating a fund, I would request Hon. Cheptumo to look at how best victims of cattle rustling, for example, can fit within the provisions of the Victim Protection Trust Fund, which is already created so that we only operationalise the fund to the extent that it is able to support victims of cattle rustling. The Victim Protection Act provides compensation and remedies for victims of offences such as cattle rustling. Having agreed, for example, that cattle rustling is a criminal offence and that those people’s houses are burnt, they are maimed and widowed, those are the people that need to be compensated as we deal with the crime of cattle rustling. There is already a law that creates a fund. So, this is something that can be dealt with very easily. The second thing is this: Cattle rustling creates IDPs. We also know for a fact that there is an IDP law in Kenya, which has been drawn from international conventions. That law already creates a fund within the meaning of the IDP Act. Whereas I think it is possible to debate and agree that cattle rustling is a national disaster, I think a resolution to create a special fund for it might not be the way to go because there are already two laws dealing with the issues of IDPs and victims of offences. So, I think that within the Kenyan law, there is a way to deal with it. Third and lastly, whereas I sympathise with the various victims of cattle rustling, the houses that are destroyed, the schools that are interfered with, the women that are constantly raped, the loss of property and life, I really think that the security apparatus of this country ought to be dealing with cattle rustling in a manner that is convenient so that we cannot be talking about dealing with effects of crime through compensation. That is because they are crimes that can be prevented. Yes, it is good that Hon. Cheptumo has raised those issues, but they can be dealt with adequately---"
}