Joyce Wanjalah Lay

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 61 to 70 of 169.

• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: As leaders, we have the obligation of making sure that the people of Kenya understand the laws we make for them. Women are the majority of the people who suffer because of not knowing that there are laws that protect them. Most of the time, women are made to suffer in silence. The reason is that they do not know that there is a law that protects them. Widows have even lost their land because they do not know what the law says about them. The Marriage Act concerns every Kenyan. I remember, when we passed it here, the people ... view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: does not understand what the law says, and does not know that we had five different laws of marriage, the following day, the poor woman sees her husband come home with another woman and she accepts; just because she does not know what the law says. Women are meant to speak out but they suffer in silence and any time we speak out we are victimised. I can talk of my own recent experience in Japan. When I reported to the Committee, there were complaints as to why I had done that. This was despite that I know there is ... view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: Yes, there is. This is because I am talking about understanding the laws that we make here in Parliament. view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: It was an example that I was giving for Kenyans out there to know that we have passed the Victim Protection Bill, so that any other Kenyan going through that kind of thing knows that there is a law that protects them. If we translate the Victim Protection Law into Kiswahili, more women will start speaking out, talking and reporting the things they go through. view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. Whatever it is that we are experiencing in the country is because people are not involved. People do not understand laws and devolution. We have a whole Section 88 of the County Governments Act that speaks on public participation, and of the right of the citizens of a county to petition their county government on any matter within the responsibility of the county governments; this can only be effective if the citizens understand the law. One way of enabling them is by translating this law into Kiswahili. When we talk about public participation, we can ... view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: For them to participate in the budget making processes of the counties, and understand simple mathematics, or how much money has been sent to the counties and the sub-counties and what criteria were used to share out the money, understanding the law is important. The reason why I am saying that we translate laws into Kiswahili is because there is a project I am doing in my Taita Taveta County. I want to come up with a public participation forum where the common mwananchi can sit down and understand the laws that we make. These platforms are going to give ... view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor. view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: Thank you, hon. Deputy Speaker. That means I am representing my people and I have to speak on their behalf. Their voices need to be heard. How can their voices be heard if we do not give them the opportunity to understand and be part and parcel of the law making process?So, when we start translating these laws into Kiswahili, if there is any Bill then it will also have to be in Kiswahili. I can give an example of the Lands Bill or Water Bill that touch on common wananchi. If we have it translated into Kiswahili a copy ... view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: As a Kenya citizen, I know that there is a law which protects me, but because they did not know that such law existed, they accepted to be violated. Right now, there is a long court process and we do not know when justice will be done. If people get to know their rights, they will be bold; they will stand firm and speak out. They will say “No; I am a Kenya citizen and I know that there is a law which protects me. I am not going to allow you to violate my rights.” view
• 25 Mar 2015 in National Assembly: Hon. Deputy Speaker, because of time--- view