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{
    "id": 942771,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/942771/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 345,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Makali Mulu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "activities and political activities. At times you find data is misused, especially by criminals. I think this Bill is coming up very late. It should have been there a long time ago. I remember during the time of collecting information through the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) which was being spearheaded by the Office of the President and also during the last census, Kenyans were very concerned about how this data would be handled in terms of privacy. We must realise that there is data for public use and there is also private data which should be for individuals. We have a law on access to information. It makes it very clear that data for public use can be accessed by all Kenyans and there is a way you can access it without any problem. The concern has always been private data, data relating to individuals. This Bill is going to provide a legal framework which will help Kenyans in sorting out these matters. I just want to give an example: you will realise that Kenyans, more so those who are in positions like MPs, CSs, PSs, are just human like any other. When it comes to medical information, you will realise that people can access it without your knowledge. Even as you conduct your business, there are those who will be saying you are sick and you do not know where they get this information from. There are others who go out there and start spreading propaganda about your health that you are about to die because of one, two and three. You do not know where this information comes from. I believe medical information is confidential. Through this Bill, it will not be possible to access information relating to individual’s medical records unless you have provided the authority. The other area I see information being misused is through data in our banks. We all have bank accounts. There is a Member who said somebody went out there, checked his bank account and they were able to say he could not sustain campaigns for one week because he was broke. The more serious one is where somebody goes to your account, realises you have Kshs4 million to Kshs5 million in the account and they go out there, hijack your son or daughter and demand you must give Kshs3 million or Kshs4 million before they release the daughter. It is just because somebody has given them that information. So, they know very well you have money. The money they will demand is exactly the money which is in your account and it becomes worse. It actually tortures families. Through this Bill, I think employees of banks who can provide such information will be punished seriously. We have put up a very structured way of accessing information. The other thing is where information is used for criminal purposes and where people want to send you information. For example, I remember at one point a friend of mine got information saying that he had been given a limited number of days to do certain things only to find out later that information was coming from Kamiti Maximum Prison. So, you wonder how somebody in prison has access to your telephone number. I think time has come that information relating to individuals – what we call private information – is protected. It is important that this Bill does so. So, I want to support this Bill and request the House as a whole to make sure that we fast-track it to become an Act of Parliament so that Kenyans can be saved from the current problems that we are going through because of the uncontrolled way of accessing data. With those remarks, I support."
}