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"id": 946368,
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
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"legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I am guided by your ruling. Since Kericho is closer to Nandi than Bungoma, maybe you would give slightly more time to me than to Sen. Wetangula. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, this is a very sad issue. Watching the cries, over the weekend, of these very innocent Kenyans – whom State agencies decided to visit misery and a lot of pain on, on that particular cold Saturday morning – was not only heart wrenching, but disappointing to me as a leader. In fact, the most disappointing bit was when I watched the OCPD or the OCS of the immediate police station next to that particular place saying, “We came here at 3.00 a.m. to enforce a court order.” Which Government enforces court orders at 3.00 a.m. in the morning? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have said several times in this Senate that we have vetted many officers. We have given approval, as Parliament, to many civil servants, but there is none that I regret giving my thumb of approval to like the current Inspector- General (IG) of police. What the IG has allowed our Police Service to become is not in line with the promises that he made before this House, when he was being vetted. We now have officers running amok across the entire country, beating up people, engaging in acts of criminal activities and doing the kinds of destruction that we saw being visited upon these innocent Kenyans. Without any shame, the IG courageously stood in from of a camera, and narrated how they are evicting people, saying that all they are doing is enforcing a court order. That tells you that something is completely wrong with the people who are manning our State security agencies. Therefore, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, although it is not one of the requests that presenter of this Statement has made before you, given the sensitivity of its nature, and also the fact that forceful evictions seem to have become the order of the day with this current administration, I urge and request you to perhaps delegate or ask the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to look into this particular issue. They should also look into of any other forceful eviction, whereby the police are using the power of the gun to visit all manner of pain and agony on innocent Kenyans. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was speaking to my colleagues on Thursday, last week. Two of them are here, but because of debate, I do not want to mention who they are. I reminded them not to celebrate when any innocent Kenyan is being forcefully evicted by the police, because you never know when the same will be visited upon you. It was so ironic that no less than 24 hours later, I saw one of them in a press conference. It serves to remind us that, as a people, let us always stand up for what is right. It does not matter how much it suits our political narrative for the moment. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I urge you, with all utmost humility, that you should not allow this issue to rest at the level of a Statement. Please, charge the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights – fortunately, it is chaired by the Senator of that particular region where this incident took place – to look into that issue and summon the IG to Parliament. Let him come and explain to this House who gave him the powers to go and visit pain and agony upon these residents. The same is happening in Mau Forest. As we sit here, in a well air conditioned Senate like this, Kenyan women are being raped, and their property destroyed. 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."
}