Wako says police prosecutors will be dumped

by Maureen Mudi

Kenya will phase out police prosecutors from courts of law by 2011.

Attorney General Amos Wako says following reforms in the prosecution department, police officers would no longer be required to prosecute cases.

"This will allow them to focus on their core functions of crime detection and prevention and maintenance of law and order," he said. Speaking to State prosecutors countrywide, who are attending a first-ever convention in Mombasa, Wako, however, clarified that only qualified officers will be gazetted as lay-prosecutors and moved to his office.

AG Amos Wako with Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko (right) during the official opening of the first Prosecutors Convention Kenya 2009, at Mombasa Beach Hotel, on Sunday . Photo: Maarufu Mohamed/Standard

"This does not mean that the officers (trained as prosecutors) will lose out on their jobs," he said. "Those who are good and undertake relevant courses will be employed under the scheme of service while others will choose to go back to regular service."

He said a gazette notice that provides a blanket appointment of police prosecutors would be revoked and replaced by individual gazettement.

"By virtue of provisions of Section 26(5) of the Constitution, police prosecutors are placed under the supervision and direction of the AG. But in reality, the AG does not play any role in their appointment, deployment or discipline. They are ultimately answerable, through the chain of command, to the Commissioner of Police."

Case backlogs

The sorry state of affairs plaguing Kenya’s Judiciary occasioned by a backlog of cases has largely been blamed on understaffing on the Bench and the incompetence of police prosecutors and investigators. Police officers prosecute cases in magistrates’ courts, while State counsels, themselves lawyers, handle more serious crimes in the High Court.

There have been an increasing number of cases prosecuted by police officers being challenged and dismissed for lack of evidence. Police prosecutors have also increasingly come under fire for drawing up defective charge sheets that enable suspects escape justice.

There are currently over 300 police prosecutors countrywide who handle over 90 per cent of criminal cases in the magistrates’ courts.

"In contrast, the number of State counsel prosecutors presently stands at 73 and they handle criminal matters as well as prosecute major and complex cases including corruption, fraud, drugs, terrorism, piracy and gender-based violence," said Wako.

Wako said the duality of roles with the resultant divided loyalties for police prosecutors is a serious structural defect, adding that the police lack the requisite legal training to effectively handle complex criminal matters.

He said the strategic plan of the state law office 2004-2008 proposed the phasing out of the police by the end of last year but only 52 out of the expected 150 State counsels were employed since there was an inadequate budgetary allocation to support the phasing out programme.

Wako added that a task force had been appointed in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to co-ordinate the exercise.

Spearhead process

"In view of the technical nature of the phasing out exercise, the team has recommended that a consultant, preferably one who has undertaken a similar exercise in another jurisdiction, is engaged to spearhead the process," he said.

He said the Governance, Justice, Law and Order Sector and the United Nations office on Crime and Drugs will assist within three months to ensure issues run smoothly.

Present in the meeting were the newly re-appointed Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority (KACC) Director Aaron Ringera, Mombasa Resident Judge Justice Mohammed Ibrahim who represented the Chief Justice, Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko and the Chairman of the Advocates Complaints Committee Joseph Kingaru among others.