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{
    "id": 71501,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/71501/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 356,
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    "content": "of them is cultural and traditional practices amongst the communities which practice cattle rustling. To them, ownership of cattle is seen as a means of proving manhood. If we could actually encourage cultural exchange, then the person in those areas could actually see that there are different ways that they can exercise their machismo. They do not necessarily need to own cattle in order to prove that. The other major reason for prevalence of cattle rustling is that people use cattle to pay dowry. I would want to recommend that we encourage our people to discard this culture. If you look at the concept of dowry payment, I think it is a concept that is now very heavily abused. I have actually been in weddings where parents have refused their daughters to marry because the men did not give so much money. In the modern world, it has ceased to be cattle; people are now demanding thousands of shillings. To me, as a women rights crusader, it actually reduces women to a commodity. We could actually encourage people to adopt a wedding at simple means. If we need other cultural means, we can actually get families to dance and do other things. We do not necessarily have to exchange cattle. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the other thing that facilitates cattle rustling is proliferation of small arms and light weapons. This is something that does not just affect the areas that are affected by cattle rustling, but a big problem in this country that we must address. It is also the source of insecurity in this country. We have a lot of arms in the wrong hands. This facilitates cattle rustling because in the past, people did not use this sophisticated weaponry. It makes it more difficult to move heads of cattle. But now because of these small arms, as the Chair was saying, children in that neighbourhood can actually tell you what kinds of guns used for cattle rustling. Arms are not controlled. So, it is not just a threat to cattle, but also too human beings. There is also the culture of warlordism. Again, many young people are being used by persons who have declared themselves warlords. We must see what we can do with our young people. Most of them are not just used wrongly during politics, but also in illegal activities such as cattle rustling. The other concern we noted was the issue of porous borders. The issue of porous borders has been discussed in this House many times in the past. It does not only affect the issue of cattle rustling, but increasingly we are seeing a lot of cases of human trafficking, especially affecting women and children. We have also seen a lot of cases of illegal immigrants that are moving because of our porous borders. I would like to encourage the Minister for Immigration and Registration of Persons that we must take very stern action and secure our borders, especially because of the more recent trends that we are seeing. We should also avoid a situation where we end up profiling our Kenyans assuming that they are coming from outside. One of the other issues that we noted as a Committee was marginalization and underdevelopment of some of these areas that encourage cattle rustling. I want to agree with the Chair that when we are looking at implementing the Constitution, these areas must be prioritized, not only under Article 100, but under the definition clause which tells us who a marginalized person is. Also with the equalization fund, so that some of the parts of this country that have lagged behind can be brought at par with the other parts of the country."
}