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{
    "id": 697509,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/697509/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 214,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Muhia",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 968,
        "legal_name": "Wanjiku Muhia",
        "slug": "wanjiku-muhia"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. On a light note, at least, Hon. Okoth has come. I was sympathising with their side, as all Members seem to be around discussing other matters. This is a very important Bill. We just concluded The Hague cases. Some of the witnesses claimed they could not give evidence because they were not properly protected. I would like to start with the issue of hired witnesses. We had the experience of several hired witnesses in The Hague cases. It also happens even in our normal courts. A lot of evidence is lost. Due to insufficient evidence, cases are never concluded. As cases are never concluded, justice is denied, especially on rape cases. As a County Member of Parliament, I come across many rape cases. Unfortunately, today even the boy-child is at a risk of being sodomised. Every morning and lunch hour when you listen to news over the radio, parents are crying; rape cases are all over. These people live with us, but no single woman or elderly person is willing to go to court or police station to testify. People are afraid to express or explain the real situation for fear of their lives. As a result, crime has continued to increase day by day. At the end of the day, criminals enjoy because no one can go to court or police station and report them. When we talk of rape which happens to people we live with, we cannot forget to mention terrorism. Life has changed and you can easily know that children are being radicalised. But there is no one strong Kenyan able to come out in the light and say that children are being radicalised. As a result, when something happens, every other person says: “I was suspecting it would happen”, when the damage is already done. It is important to have the Witness Protection Act amended. It should continue to be amended until it suits us because life is changing, criminals and crimes are changing time and again and people live in fear on a daily basis. They do not compare the fear to the crime or to the threat to their lives, but only because they feel threatened because they are not protected. Justice can now be done because evidence will be there and cases will be concluded well. As I finish, even our policemen and women, the men and women in uniform, are also afraid of their lives in spite of their job training. At the same time, these people still live with them in the camps, villages and towns and they are also exposed. The issue of exposure will be minimised. As a result, crime will be curbed. With those few remarks, I support."
}