Tobiko: We achieved much at the DPP's office in six years

Former Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko. He has been nominated to the Cabinet. [File, Standard]

Outgoing Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko has explained how his office helped the country dodge a crisis after last year's polls.

Mr Tobiko said they stopped any form of violence by developing standard operating procedures, rapid reference guide for the investigation and prosecution of election-related offences, model charge sheets for electoral offences and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for structured engagement with the electoral commission.

To foster specialisation, the office of the DPP established 29 vibrant thematic prosecution divisions, sections and units.

The units include homicide division,  sexual and gender-based violence division, counter-terrorism division, human rights and judicial review division, appeals division, anti-corruption division, anti-narcotics and organised crime division and extradition, MLA & international cooperation division.

Others are children, victims and witness support division, wildlife crime division, land and environmental crimes division and piracy and maritime offences division.

Tobiko said to ensure responsiveness, access to justice and good governance in service delivery, they established a public complaints and compliments section and social media platforms on Twitter and Facebook.

Through this "we have successfully processed over 12,000 public complaints".

The office also invested in professional skills development and capacity building efforts for staff and other players.

So far, 972 officers have been trained through numerous practical thematic group sessions and sponsored 45 individuals for master’s degree studies and 114 staff for other critical short courses.

“As a result, the ODPP has produced within its ranks a pool of subject-matter experts who are utilised internationally,” Tobiko told The Standard.

The office also became a member of the East Africa Association of Prosecutors (EAAP), Africa Prosecutors’ Association (APA) and International Association of Prosecutors (IAP).

This is in recognition of the transnational and cross-border nature of emerging crime and the need to foster international legal cooperation.

“These efforts have translated into significant rise in prosecution performance as reflected in the overall conviction rates,” he said.

Tobiko said he had confidence the ODPP was now a strong and focused agency and would achieve more due to the foundation he laid.

Tobiko bade his staff farewell and assured the public there would be no vacuum in the office.

Public Prosecutions Secretary Dorcas Oduor will take charge at the ODPP in an acting capacity before Tobiko's successor is appointed.

Tobiko said he had left behind highly qualified and able staff.

Mr Tobiko had served for six years before being nominated to the Cabinet.

In the period he was the boss, the ODPP has grown from a mere 93 prosecution counsel to the present 627.

“Similarly, the number of non-legal staff has grown from the initial 112 at inception to the current 402,” he said.

He said in 2011, ODPP had only 13 field stations across the country but at present it has established full-fledged offices in all 47 Counties.

In addition, ODPP has deployed prosecution counsels in all 121 court stations around the country.

Before 2011, over 95 per cent of prosecutions in the subordinate courts were handled by 305 police prosecutors but y all police prosecutors were phased out and replaced with prosecution counsel.

“Effectively, therefore, prosecution service in Kenya has been fully professionalised and civilianised,” Tobiko said.

As part of efforts to promote transparency and accountability, the ODPP developed key prosecutorial policy documents, guidelines and manuals, which included the national prosecution policy, the code of conduct and ethics for all prosecutors and general prosecution guidelines.

Tobiko's appointment has been positively received across his home county.

Yesterday, a section of leaders met in Kajiado town where they lauded President Uhuru Kenyatta for appointing him.

In a statement, the more than 200 elders said: "We are extremely gratified and grateful as elders of the maa community in Kajiado County."