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{
    "id": 749825,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/749825/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 155,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Ombaka",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1007,
        "legal_name": "Christine Oduor Ombaka",
        "slug": "christine-oduor-ombaka"
    },
    "content": "I support this because it is a right to the policemen and women and is part of the labour laws which must be followed. It is very necessary for the police officers to be given compensation whenever they are injured or fall ill like anybody else in the Civil Service. It is surprising that, that aspect of their lives has been neglected for a long time. As has been said before, the compensation needs to be given on time. There are a lot of delays when looking for compensation from the insurance or anywhere else. The salary and retirement benefits come very late in this country. But where one is ill during their time of work and still there is a delay; that is an abuse. We need to compensate on time those who are injured in the line of duty because that compensation goes a long way in improving the life of the victim. Compensation may not necessarily be medical. Sometimes, it can also be in terms of the Government educating the child of a policeman who has been injured during his work, especially where there is disability. When a policeman is disabled due to an accident, he may be compensated financially. But even employing his son or his daughter or paying school fees for that policeman‟s child is also part of what we should accept as compensation. I support this very highly because compensation comes as a reward. It is a kind of “thank you” that you give to somebody because he has performed so well but has, unfortunately, succumbed to a particular disease; been disabled in one way or the other or is completely rendered unable to work and perform as he has done before. Somebody raised an issue of who receives your compensation. Compensation can be received by your children, yourself or your wife. But when the bit of the wife came in, there was the issue of our men marrying more than one wife and, therefore, the person to compensate may bring in a problem. They may never know who to compensate. That reminds me about the Bill we passed here on the marriage law. The Marriage Bill that came through said that the African man, especially the Kenyan man, can marry as many wives as he wants. That Bill was passed here and is now a law. We allowed men to marry more than one wife. Underneath that law was one statement that I will not forget: For every woman that you marry, that woman must have a certificate of marriage even if she is 10th or 100th wife. She must have a certificate of marriage. We need to highlight that certificate because that is what will help when compensation is undertaken. The wife - whatever number - will still benefit from that compensation that you give to the policeman simply because she is legally married within the laws of this country. Even if she is the 100th wife, she will still get that compensation on behalf of her husband. That is what we need to highlight. Policemen must declare who their next of kin is. Who will qualify for compensation? Who will benefit? How many wives are there? How many children are there that will benefit from the compensation that their father has received from the State? In the case of the woman, she will also need to decide who her husband is and if there is a marriage certificate. That will help us in areas where compensation becomes a challenge. Otherwise, I do not wish to say much more. This Bill has come at the right time when many policemen have suffered greatly in the line of duty. They have been maimed, paralysed and are mentally sick. Many of them require medical attention. Many of them require psychological counselling. They are traumatised. Their medical care is certainly coming in at the right time just like any other person who works as a civil servant. I vehemently support this Bill."
}