A group of Murang’a residents have petitioned Parliament to abolish the police clearance certificate as a mandatory requirement for job seekers. The petitioners led by Susan Gachango also want National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi to have MPs pass a law to remove criminal records after the fifth year of offence. They cited US State of Indiana and UK as examples of jurisdictions where certain misdemeanors and non-violent felonies are expunged from offenders’ records after several years. The petitioners argue that the requirement by employers for job seekers to produce police clearance certificates is not a statutory requirement, but instead infringes on their constitutional rights to privacy as it exposes the job seeker’s past criminal records. “Further, the petitioners view this requirement as discriminatory since many employers may use the police clearance certificate as a basis for disqualifying job seekers having criminal records irrespective of their academic and other qualifications,” Muturi said while reading the petition.

Source: The Star August 18, 2021 13:30 UTC