{"id":718858,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/718858/?format=json","text_counter":219,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Wetangula","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":3036,"legal_name":"Timothy Wanyonyi Wetangula","slug":"timothy-wanyonyi-wetangula"},"content":"As captured here, it is creating this office and giving it teeth such that anybody who tries to influence a decision will be committing an offence. This is very important because we need to allow institutions to function and not to be micromanaged by somebody else who is not even in the position to make that decision. This is a very important piece of legislation. When it is passed, it will give this country a mileage in this area so that we can address issues that have been left pending. We have had political deaths. We have had people who have died in police custody. We have had people who have died in various circumstances. I believe every death is supposed to be investigated. Even the family should be satisfied that the causes of death are explained. You remember the recent case of Bwana Dawa, Mark Too. There was the issue of whether or not the family should have a postmortem conducted. There were interests. This is something that we need to look into because sometimes these are the kind of things that we need to put to rest. We shall not allow any suspicious deaths or something unexplained. As Hon. Cecilia said, there are people who died in the Post-Election Violence and we still do not know some of the causes. Some people were strangled and some had all manner of things done to them. These are things that we need to look at. This Bill is addressing very interesting issues. Clause 43(1) of the Bill says that if a coroner is of the opinion that it is appropriate and essential to ascertain the circumstances and the nature of death, the coroner may conduct a post-mortem on the body. This is where we are giving this office of the coroner the power to decide that if there is suspicion or if there are any questions, then he can conduct a post-mortem on the corpse. We believe that when this Bill comes into operation, it will address many issues and put to rest some of the things that have been going on. Sometimes as a country, we need to make sure that justice is given to people who have died and the families also have peace of mind. I am sure the British gentleman must still be smarting because of the things that happened to his daughter in this country and he could not tell what killed his daughter. We also need to look at the political deaths like that of Dr. Robert Ouko and others. We still cannot tell what really caused the death of Dr. Robert Ouko; whether he died at the spot where he was found or something like that. Normally, when they conduct investigations, they come up with reports that will give a conclusive report on what the cause of death was. Most important is preserving the scene of the crime. Recently, Jacob Juma died and before anything could be done, there was already interference with the scene of the crime. The police could not tell whether he died at that spot or whether he had been taken to that place. It is also important that when the scene of the crime is preserved, proper investigations can be conducted and evidence collected that can be used later. We have had cases come to court and the reports from the coroners do not explain or give conclusive evidence that can help the court make the right decision. This is very important. We must also look at preserving those scenes of crime so that proper investigations can be conducted and evidence is collected so that nobody interferes with it. Let me give an opportunity to other Members to contribute. This is a very important piece of legislation. It will help address a lot of issues that have remained untouched in this country."}