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{
    "id": 87318,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/87318/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 227,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Munya",
    "speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for East African Community",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 279,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Konzolo Munyao",
        "slug": "joseph-munyao"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was just raising the issue of Modogashe Declaration as one of the agreements that the communities living in that area have entered into in terms of trying to bring to an end the menace of cattle rustling. I was not saying that the Modogashe Declaration was used in this case to compensate. In this case, there was no compensation; it was recovery of animals stolen and restitution of those animals to the rightful owners. So, that is why I was emphasizing that in this case, the issue of a collective punishment does not arise. In law, we also say that you do not benefit from your own mistakes. If you are a cattle raider, you come raiding people, you go with their cows, the Government comes to assist to enforce the law and takes over the cows, why do you cry foul? If you had stayed where you live, kept your cows, grazed your own cows and you did not go to steal anybody else’s, nobody would have come to disturb where you live. Nobody would have come to disturb you. So, I do not see why we would want to use a Committee of this House to intimidate the Government from doing its job of protecting property and enforcing security in areas that are prone to insecurity. If you go to my area, people have been unable to settle down. We are not able to graze our cows where we are supposed to graze them. Even now, we are not able to water our cows in the watering holes because warriors from that region have invaded and taken over the area. I am saying that it is high time, if you ask me, for the Government to become even firmer in dealing with the menace of cattle rustling. It is not only the Government. I am also saying that it is high time for the leaders; especially Members of this honourable House, to take responsibility and start organizing their communities to start engaging in other income generating activities, so that they can stop that outdated practice of trying to replenish their cows after a drought, with cows belonging to other communities. This is what has been happening! When a drought comes and cows are wiped out in certain areas, young warriors who are trained there and who have gone through the traditional process of initiation are sent out there to replenish their herds by raiding other communities. That practice, because of tradition, is tolerated in certain areas. We are saying that time has come when we have to stop this practice and leaders take responsibility of training their people to stop stealing in any other name. Cattle rustling is a criminal activity! It is use of violence where you kill people who are herding cattle, take their cattle and then you try to justify using a Committee of this House."
}