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{
    "id": 736232,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/736232/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 54,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 3036,
        "legal_name": "Timothy Wanyonyi Wetangula",
        "slug": "timothy-wanyonyi-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Deputy Speaker, when police officers sustain injuries in the line of duty, sometimes the PSC finds it difficult to accept their conditions. Sometimes such officers are summarily dismissed. The argument is that the officers are employed for their physical fitness so that they can do physical work. When they are injured and rendered useless, the National Police Service will have no more use for such officers. There are many things that we can address in this Bill. We are living in an era where criminals are more sophisticated and the police dealing with them are at times not properly equipped to handle situations as they arise. Many times, police officers end up losing their lives or sustaining injuries. The families of such officers suffer a great deal. Therefore, it would be proper, even with this amendment Bill, that we address the issue of insurance. The PSC should source the services of insurance companies to insure police officers because they deal with situations that are very dangerous. Some situations can easily cost them their lives. This is the case and yet the Government does not adequately compensate officers who have suffered fatal injuries. If police officers are covered under an insurance scheme, it would provide adequate compensation for officers who sustain injuries in the course of duty. I have also seen situations where officers who are injured in the line of duty are taken to Government medical facilities like Moi Forces Memorial Hospital. Many a times we find officers left there, with nothing being done. Some officers have stayed there for many years without anything being done. Sometimes even the medical team that is constituted to look into their situation give reports which indicate that such officers have no benefit to the force. I believe, with the amendment Bill, we will address such issues. We can even go a step further to address the issue of insurance so that officers can be properly covered by insurance companies wherever they are. If they lose their lives or sustain injuries, they can be compensated. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I believe this amendment will do a great service to police officers. The PSC should embrace this proposal so that they can improve the terms of service of police officers. That way, officers will feel secure and discharge their duties more effectively. We have also had situations of police officers being trigger-happy, especially where they shoot and kill unarmed civilians. This is a very serious issue because officers are trained to disarm people. If a police officer is facing a dangerous situation, he or she can disarm the aggressor by shooting to disable him and not shooting to kill him. When they kill somebody, they lose useful information that can lead to proper investigation. That way, the police fail to get 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."
}