Hope that plea deals will help end cases

Chief Justice David Maraga (R) with members of the National Council on Administration of Justice (NCAJ) during a joint meeting at Enashipai resort in Naivasha.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary will seek more plea bargain deals with suspects and institutions charged with corruption.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji and Chief Justice David Maraga yesterday said such agreements could be effective in resolving dozens of ongoing graft cases in the country.

Mr Haji and Mr Maraga were speaking in Naivasha during a meeting of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ).

The DPP was, however, quick to note that his office would keenly monitor the use of plea bargaining to stop it from being misused or abused by organisations and individuals charged with corruption.

Justice Maraga also welcomed the idea, saying it would help in the recovery of stolen assets. But he warned that all procedures and laws would have to be followed before executing such deals.

“If a suspect charged with corruption agrees to pay back and return the stolen assets, then the Judiciary would not have any problem with this,” he said.

The CJ, at the same time, defended the recent transfer of judges and denied being pushed by the State to move judges deemed as ‘difficult’ to other stations.

“In the past. I have transferred judges and next week I shall be transferring more. This is part of my job as the CJ and there is no pressure from any quarters.”

Maraga also defended the decision by courts to throw out sensitive cases due to what magistrates and judges termed 'weak' evidence.

Addressing the press, Judiciary Chief Registrar Anne Amadi said members of the council had agreed to work as one team to fight graft.

“In order to eliminate bottlenecks in the fight against corruption, the council resolved to set up a committee to identify key challenges and make proposals to engender greater efficiencies,” she said.