HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 903001,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/903001/?format=api",
"text_counter": 46,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Cherargei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13217,
"legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
"slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
},
"content": "the Kenya Police through the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). The duo were later joined in detention by hon. Justus Murunga, MP Matungu Constituency. Also detained over the weekend was Hon. David Gikaria, MP, Nakuru Town East. The first three were released on what we were told was in compliance with a circular from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) which was also shared on social media. All the four have shared ordeals of mistreatment and manhandling in the hands of the authorities. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when did knee jerk directives from security heads in this country and in particular, the CS, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Dr. Fred Matiangi; Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Mr. George Kinoti; Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hillary Mutyambai; and, the ―one man show‖ Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr. Noordin Haji, replace the fundamental Bill of Rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Kenya? Why should we allow circulars emanating from these institutions to replace Article 29(a) of the Constitution, which expressly prohibits arbitrary deprivation of freedom without a just cause? Sometimes I am tempted to believe that the current DPP is over excited about using letterheads of that office, either to direct arrests or order release. The right to freedom is so fundamental that its deprivation should only be informed by concrete evidence, ready for presentation to a court of law. As the Chairperson of the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, I am concerned that we continue to allow the DCI and the DPP to abuse Article 49 of the Constitution, detailing the rights of arrested persons. If an MP or a former CS can be denied the right to speak to an advocate, the right to be released on police bond, to see a doctor or is manhandled by enforcement officers, then I can only imagine what the ordinary Kenyans go through in the hands of the Kenya Police. We transformed our enforcement agencies from a force to a service but from the ordeals we are getting from our colleagues, we have not made any fundamental progress. We know that there is a loophole under Article 49(f)(2) of the Constitution being exploited by the Kenya Police to hold a person for over 24 hours. However, they make it so obvious and wait for Fridays – or kamata kamata Fridays, as is known – to effect arrests so that citizens spend over 72 hours in the cells. This is the height of impunity! Even after that 72-hour detention, the State appears in court to seek further detention to finish investigations. We need to pronounce ourselves here, that unless the State already has sufficient evidence to sustain a prosecution, nobody should be detained. This country shall not and will not operate at the whims of overzealous and excited heads. It shall only be run by the supreme law of the land, statutes passed by Parliament and, in the absence of both, it shall be guided by the rules of natural justice. At the rate we are going, I do not believe we shall be serving any justice to victims. What we are doing is simply ruining the careers and lives of respected members of the society. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I urge this House to pronounce itself on the place of the Constitution of Kenya against the place of individual heads. In so doing, I am alive to the lives lost in Matungu in Kakamega County. I equally cry for the lost souls. I am only cautioning that if we progress in the direction we are taking, the dead and their families The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}