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{
    "id": 718863,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/718863/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 224,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wamunyinyi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 291,
        "legal_name": "Athanas Misiko Wafula Wamunyinyi",
        "slug": "athanas-wamunyinyi"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am sorry, I was not referring to you. I was referring to the Chair. I am just saying that the decision is quite laudable. I commend the decision to table this Bill because it will go a long way in helping unravel cases which would have otherwise gone like Hon. Wanyonyi has just mentioned. Our son, Jacob Juma, was killed. Even before investigations had commenced, everything had been taken away including the car and the body. Nothing was on the scene by morning. To date, nobody has explained. Nobody has said who killed him. This is a country where people just disappear at night and are found dead and nobody is there to investigate and give a report on what happened. This Bill seeks to put in place measures that will do away with such cases. I trust that it will also not be used to cover up cases where people have been killed. There have been attempts to cover up some cases. We have been in court and seen rulings made in court. Even magistrates and judges have been critical of investigations. They criticise the police for poor investigations and dismiss cases for which people would have been convicted for murder. This has happened and people have been let scot free with blood on their hands. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, this Bill being introduced is going to ensure that people undertaking investigations into these cases are properly trained, are well qualified and are not just the ordinary investigators who are picked even to investigate murder. Murder is one of the most serious capital offences. So, if we have qualified investigators, medical staff working on these cases, forensic scientists and pathologists - Dr. Nyikal can tell us the qualified ones- people who can support an investigation team to unravel cases of unexplained murder, it will be good. This is what this Bill is seeking to achieve. Clearly, the good thing about it is that it spells out in the various sections--- I have just sampled a few. Part IV in Clause 24 clearly talks about the obligation to report reportable deaths and investigations of reportable deaths. It goes further to give details of these cases; cases arising from people fighting, violence and misadventure. Even misadventure is supposed to be investigated thoroughly. This is where someone may be hit by a stray bullet or something like that and people have been killed under such circumstances. Sometimes it is not just stray bullets but out of negligence. So, it needs to be given proper attention by investigators. This Bill gives all these details. This is one of the good pieces of legislation that have been introduced in this House. Unfortunately, it is coming at this time. I trust we will pass it so that it becomes law. Clause 25 is very clear on the reporting of deaths that occur in custody. Where people have died in police custody, we have been given different explanations, excuses and allegations. This is one area where it clearly provides for what needs to be done and how investigations should take place and the death to be investigated by this Service. It also clearly gives the details of the death. 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."
}