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{
    "id": 720028,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/720028/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 59,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Gikaria",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2489,
        "legal_name": "David Gikaria",
        "slug": "david-gikaria"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to contribute to this important Bill. It is true that torturing suspects in order to extract evidence or confession from them is not acceptable. As Hon. Kang’ata said yesterday, it is important for us to define persons to be tortured. Hon. Kang’ata said that terrorists kill innocent people on the streets, churches and everywhere else. Should they be treated like common criminals? We should try to come up with a way of distinguishing dangerous criminals from common criminals. If we leave it open like this, we will be encouraging robbers and other dangerous criminals to continue killing people knowing that, even if they are apprehended, they will just go through the normal court process. There must be a way of trying to ask them to give more information. Hon. Kang’ata said that even torture is not enough in itself. A firing squad is even more appropriate for that kind of offence. So many terrorists have come to this country and caused mayhem. When they were taken to court, they got away because our Constitution allows them to be set free on bail. However, at the same time, this is a very good law for the ordinary people. Under the UN Convention against Torture, it is true that Kenya has domesticated those laws. Again, as a country, we want to be seen to be taking those laws seriously. Of course, Kenya is also a signatory to that Convention. Importantly, the law is clear that no criminal can be subjected to a person other than a public officer. It has been said here that in the past, people were victimised because of their political affiliation or because they never believed in certain ideologies or because they were against the Government. I thank the Jubilee Government for taking positively all the criticism it has faced, unlike in the past when people who criticised the Government of the day faced the wrath of the leadership of the Government. I am happy that, under the Jubilee Government, with the support of a reformed Judiciary, the people who were tortured in the past are able to be compensated even though the compensation may not be enough. Again, this law needs to give clear guidelines as to how much money one person should be compensated for what kind of torture. We need to get the limits of the torture and humiliation that the person undergoes. In my county, there is the former Hon. Koigi wa Wamwere who was awarded Kshs2 million only just the other day. A year after another person may be awarded Kshs20 million. So we wonder, what is the criterion of accessing the compensation figures that are pronounced by different judges and magistrates?"
}