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{
    "id": 669870,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/669870/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 54,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Eng.) Gumbo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 24,
        "legal_name": "Nicholas Gumbo",
        "slug": "nicholas-gumbo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. As an alumnus of the University of Nairobi, I have had occasion to be at the University at a time when a strike was going on. I can say with authority that an overwhelming number of students do not participate in those strikes. However, what I witnessed when I was in second year was bad. A classmate of mine who was found washing was beaten thoroughly by police officers and he had to be in police cells for a very long time. It is true, yes, that who engage in criminal acts need to be punished, but there is nothing as painful as when you feel you are innocent and you are being punished. I think in the video that we watched, we saw even female students being beaten. I can say this because I do not think that it has changed. In most strikes that go on at the University of Nairobi, very rarely do female students participate in them. So, when we have a system where the innocent and the guilty are put together, and the guilty happen to be the minority, then we are breeding bitterness among those who are innocent and we are just making the situation worse. I think we must find a way to make our police officers understand the meaning of Article 37 of the Constitution. Many times, people who are just demonstrating unarmed are beaten up and injured. What is the consequence of all this? I want to thank my good friend, Hon. Tim Wanyonyi for bringing this Petition. I think there is still a lot of learning to be done by our police officers in dealing with cases of rowdiness and unruliness, especially among the young people. Young people almost everywhere are usually very excitable, but to try to make it look like all the students of the University of Nairobi, for example, participate in destruction of property and illegal strikes would be passing a universal verdict, which is not fair. I know it is not time for debate, but if you look at our Standing Orders, you will find that most of the petitions generally end at just being tabled in this House. I request that a petition such as this one, once it has been looked at by the joint committee, should be debated so that we have resolutions. This is the sort of Petition that can inform policy on how we deal with this problem. This problem is here today, it will be there tomorrow and I do not see it ending the day after. So, this is a good Petition and I thank Hon. Tim Wanyonyi for bringing it. I think it is a Petition that is going to help us find a way forward on how we deal with this problem that for sure is going to be with us for a long time to come. I thank you."
}