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{
    "id": 881349,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/881349/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 225,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suna East, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Junet Nuh",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2840,
        "legal_name": "Junet Sheikh Nuh",
        "slug": "junet-sheikh-nuh"
    },
    "content": "that has just exited. However, there is nothing to remember about the group that has just left, a few days ago. They have not introduced any significant reforms we can take home. I can only remember the previous Chairman’s mode of dressing. However, there is nothing else I can remember about that commission. This was the first commission appointed after the new Constitution. Kenyans had a lot of problems with the police force in terms of reforms, their duties and functions. I could say without fear of contradiction that it was a wasted opportunity for that commission to have played that role. This is a commission that handles the human resource issues of the police force and places people in certain positions so that they can enforce the law. In this era where there is serious heightened war on corruption, I hope the new commission will play a significant role in making sure that the right people are in the right place. So, this war is being fought at the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after those two offices were reformed and given to the right people who can do that work. The Chairman, Mr. Kinuthia, who has been nominated to chair that commission, was the coordinator of the National Police Service Reforms Programme. He also served in Justice Philip Ransley-led taskforce to reform the police. This is a man who has a lot of experience and knowledge in the reforms that we want to make within the National Police Service. There could have been no better person than him as far as doing this job is required. I also want to vouch for Dr. Alice Otwala. She is a distinguished public servant who has served in this country in many capacities for many years having been the Secretary to the Public Service Commission. So, she understands the human resource function well. All the people who have been nominated to this commission are people who have the requisite qualifications, as it has been explained here by the Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security. Looking at the police force, it seems like we have never taken security as a serious matter. Without security, there will be no investment and trade. Human life will be in danger and Parliament will not function. Security is the most important thing that comes ahead of any other issue that you intend to do. The way the police have been treated has been casual for many years. Their housing, remuneration and police stations are deplorable. Some police stations are so bad that you cannot go in. They are filthy and stinking. They can make you sick. You can be taken directly to hospital after visiting them. For example, Pangani Police Station, where I spent six days, is in deplorable condition. I am lucky I came out alive. So, it is high time we focused on them. The Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government has come up with a good programme in terms of housing. It has been said that police officers can live anywhere they feel like. They will give them house allowance. That is good because putting police officers in camps and police station housing, where four officers have to share a room, is bad. It is unacceptable and inhuman. During the six years that these nominees will serve, they must make sure that by the time they leave office they leave behind a police force that is in a better position than they found it. The police force is the most important institution in our country, unless we want to close our eyes on reality. As Members of Parliament (MPs), we have police officers who guard us. They travel with us in our cars to make us feel protected. The same people are not taken care of properly. One-third of the Kenyan budget should go to security, and it should be spent well. It should not be like the dams story. Every coin must go to where it was intended. The new uniform looks good but it is shinny. Its purpose could have been so that they are seen at night without The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}