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{
    "id": 802892,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/802892/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 64,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support and contribute to this Statement by Sen. Faki about the disappearance of persons. He was specific on the disappearance of persons from Mombasa County but this is a problem that affects the entire nation. In 2016, Amnesty International in their report, ranked Kenya high in extra- judicial killings, police killings and forced disappearance. This is a problem that we cannot just sweep under the carpet. All of us can relate, from Willy Kimani that Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. has talked about, J.M Kariuki who disappeared until he was found murdered and Robert Ouko who initially disappeared until he was found murdered. People say that he shot his head and burnt himself. Mr. Speaker, Sir, even in my own County of Homa Bay, one man by the name Kabera Matunga, who was a man about town and would always be found around the offices of politicians disappeared into thin air two years ago and has not been seen ever since.We do not know where he is, we have not found his bones and so his family cannot mourn or bury him. He disappeared and the police are not able to account for him. As a country, we must balance respect for human rights versus national security. A lot of these extra-judicial killings and disappearances have been conducted under the guise of national security. There has been some normalization of extra-judicial killings, telling young people that if they play with the police, they are playing with fire. That normalizes brute force and abuse of the rights of Kenyans by people who we have been entrusted to take care of our security. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is no reason why a thief, a corrupt person, a vagabond or terrorist should be killed by the police without going through due process. In fact, if we take the extra-judicial route, we are radicalizing our youth even more because they know that once they engage in these acts, there is no way out. It is either they succeed in their mission or they are killed. As a way forward and a call to action, Kenya is a signatory to the International Convention for Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). What this House should move to do is for Kenya to go beyond being a signatory and ratify that Convention because right now, it is not criminalized. There is no crime in the Penal Code around disappearance of persons. Again, as a call to action, there is a piece of legislation that was passed in 2014 called Persons Deprived of Liberty Act. I am sure that most of us do not know the existence of that particular Act of Parliament which was signed in 2014 and came into force in 2015. It talks about the rights of people once they are in custody and held by the police. If that Act would have been enforced, we would probably have a better framework for reporting the disappearances by the police. Finally, a matter that is before this Senate is the Preservation of Human Dignity Bill. This is a piece of legislation that took a lot of effort in the last Parliament. I remember the then Senator 001, Sen. Hassan Omar Hassan whom Sen. Faki has taken over from, put in a lot of effort to bring together stakeholders and to come up with a framework and a piece of legislation that would give effect to Article 43 of the Constitution. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}