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{
    "id": 718203,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/718203/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 147,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Maanzo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": "Bill very well. In fact, she made an extra effort and worked very well for Members of our county and the country generally on this matter. Most of the offences and issues mentioned in this Bill are in the original Act; the Sexual Offences Act and the Penal Code. But she has made an attempt to cover areas which had not been covered before and areas which have become a challenge after the implementation of the original Act. There are serious matters which are raised on sexual offences, especially when communities attempt to settle matters out of court or frustrate hearings of matters of this nature. These matters never take off in court and in most cases they are lost for failure of presentation or proper evidence in court, or evidence which has been tempered with. There are cases of collusion and corruption in relation to this area. As we debate this Bill and as we go to the Committee of the whole House, we can polish it up so that it can serve the country better. There is also the issue of abuse of young boys by people who are under their care. We could have had a balance so that indecent assault is looked at in two ways, so that it does not originate only from men, but also from women. It can also happen in molestation of young children, particularly boys by women who take care of them. There is also the issue of schools where children are under care of teachers and this sort of thing is happening. There are bodies which fight for the rights of teachers which tend to step in to negotiate and protect the rights of teachers at the time they have broken the law, yet the consequences are very severe such as very heavy jail terms. Although the fine has been moved from Kshs50,000 to Kshs500,000, it may not be prohibitive enough, if the accused person is of good means. We have seen in previous court cases on the same matter, some offenders pay the fines immediately and get away with it. There is also an issue of the country getting to learn and getting to move together so that we change our culture to ensure that people begin to know that what was culturally acceptable could now be a criminal offence. What could have appeared not to be an offence in a normal cultural situation is now a crime. This also needs extra training of the special police officers who will be handling these matters. Different cultural backgrounds have different sexual orientation and some of the acts to most of Kenyans have been made serious, just like indecent exposure has now been made a serious offence. This law attempts to prohibit phrases like “my dress my choice”. I want to thank Hon. Florence Mutua for cleaning up the older Act which seems to have left out most of the issues. She has actually done a lot of work which would have been done by the Attorney-General’s Office. She has brought out the issue of the Cabinet Secretary (CS) very well. I believe the whole Act should be cleaned up so that it is not parts of it which have been cleaned up. Otherwise, the Bill also concerns counties. I believe it will be going to the Senate. I also believe that, through the process, this law should come to effect as soon as possible. In fact, before we go into the next elections – if possible. It is a very important law. There are assaults to young girls, young school children, and young women going to work in matatus and public transport, especially when they are travelling at night. All those cases have been reported but nothing has been done about it. It is especially for lack of a better law to deal with such matters. I really support this Bill and once again congratulate the Hon. Florence Mutua. Thank you, Hon. Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}