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{
    "id": 736219,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/736219/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 41,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Odhiambo-Mabona",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 376,
        "legal_name": "Millie Grace Akoth Odhiambo Mabona",
        "slug": "millie-odhiambo-mabona"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity. I want to congratulate Hon. Nassir for bringing this Bill. I want to say from the outset that it is a very good Bill. For those of us who have worked in the human rights sector, we have been accused of not taking into account interests of the police; that we tend to focus a lot on civilians, at the expense of the police. That is not necessarily true. We are concerned with the civilians as much as we are concerned with the police. It is because our concern is human rights. If the police are human, they have as much right as any other human. The only challenge is that, even as the Bible says: “To whom much is given, much is expected.” The police are accorded the instruments of protecting life and property. Because of that, a lot is expected of them. Therefore, when they err, we tend to put a greater burden upon them. I am speaking after we have come back from the party primaries. I think many of you saw that I lost one of my security details. He was not a police guard but it could easily have been my official police guard. It is unfortunate that within the circumstances, it was reported as an accident when it was not. It was actually a deliberate murder. The guys ran off the road and ran over the guy. They were actually coming for me. My team turned and took off with me to Homa Bay because the Mbita police were not helping. In the process, they ran to the people they found on the ground and killed one. Even as we speak, nobody has been arrested for the murder. Those are the instances that, at times, make us blame the police. Assuming it was my official security that was injured, that would have been a police officer. Therefore, we urge the police to ensure that they use the same energy they would use when one of their own is injured when dealing with an incident involving a civilian. I hope the police will take this matter seriously and pursue the people who killed the young man, who will be buried on Saturday. I was told that it is propaganda, and that nobody died. I do not know whether we will be burying air, but he will be buried on Saturday. I once worked at the Office of the Attorney-General. One of my roles was defending the police, especially when they were injured or when they died in the course of duty. The law is not very clear in terms of compensation. I want to laud Hon. Nassir for taking into account that aspect. The police work in the public interest in terms of protecting us and taking care of our property. When police officers are injured, it is only befitting that they are taken care of. When they lose their lives, their loved ones should also be taken care of. Many times, you would find widows visiting our offices for years after they have lost their loved ones in the course of duty. Some children would drop out of school as a consequence. Therefore, this law is timely because 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."
}