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{
    "id": 749715,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/749715/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 45,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kemei",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2778,
        "legal_name": "Justice Kipsang Kemei",
        "slug": "justice-kipsang-kemei"
    },
    "content": "face in the discharge of their responsibilities. As this is being done, we must also recognise that the police officers who serve us at the moment are more humane. They are better trained in terms of public relations as compared to previous years, when we regarded police officers to be enemies of the society. Much as we realise these improvements, we must still ask police officers to be more humane at any given time. The extrajudicial killings that are being reported in most parts of the country must stop. We must encourage the police to work within the constitutional framework that we have. They should work within the laws of the land and make sure that all those who break the law are prosecuted and punished for the offences they commit. This year, the Government is recruiting another 10,000 police officers. Sometimes we wonder why the marginalised areas of our society are not considered when it comes to recruitment of police officers. For example, in my constituency, people from Tabaita and Simbi sub-locations have never been recruited into the National Police Service. I wonder why. At least in those areas there must be people who have gone to school, and who meet the basic academic qualifications. There must also be people who are athletic and strong enough to serve in the NPS. I encourage the NPS, much as they enjoy independence in carrying out recruitments, to also consider areas from which they have never drawn police officers in the past. While we intended to give due independence to the Inspector-General of Police and, indeed, other heads of the disciplined forces in our country, we need to relook at the wisdom that informed our decision to change the Constitution to give them independence. The President is the Head of State and the Chief Executive Officer of this country. He must have been given a leeway to hold to account the heads of the institutions that we have given independence. As Members of Parliament, we must be given a chance to hold to account police officers in our respective areas of jurisdiction whenever they fail to carry out their responsibilities, whenever they breach the human rights of individuals, and whenever they do disservice to our people. We must be able to hold them to account for their actions or otherwise. Therefore, as much as we yearn that they are given independence to perform their duties without interference, that independence must be relative. We should give the people of Kenya a chance to hold police officers to account. Hon. Deputy Speaker, Clause 2 describes the injuries that police officers may suffer as they discharge their responsibilities. It describes both minor and major injuries that may lead to disability. All this must be clearly defined. The compensation that should be given to police officers who become victims of such injuries should be sufficient to comfort them. It should be able to compensate them duly for the injuries that may be suffered when discharging their mandate. I want to join Hon. Millie Odhiambo in saying that the laws of succession in this land are sufficient enough. If we make the mistake of giving the heads of these institutions a leeway to appoint people who may benefit in the event of loss of lives of police officers, we would be doing a disservice to the law of succession – which is very comprehensive. Therefore, this amendment needs to be looked at during the Committee of the whole House so that we can harmonise it with the requirements of the laws of succession. Since I also want my colleagues to give their views, I want to encourage police officers to try and improve their academic and professional credentials so that they can keep pace with the developments in the world of crime in our country and in the whole world. That way, they will address the particularly unique kind of crime that we are increasingly witnessing lately; cybercrime. The police must be trained sufficiently to enable them tackle cybercrime to enable our society benefit from technology without becoming victims of technology‟s negative effects. 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."
}