Senate directs AG to set in motion implementation of Victims Protection Act

Attorney General Justin Muturi. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Senate committee has directed the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice to set up a working group on implementation of Victim Protection Act (No. 17 of 2014).

The Senate Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee Chairperson Hillary Sigei told the Attorney General’s office to review the draft Victims’ Rights Charter, the draft Victim Protection (General) Regulations and the Victim Protection (Trust Fund) Regulations and to submit a status report to the Senate within three months.

Sigei asked the AG’ office to submit the Victim Protection (General) Regulations and the Victim Protection (Trust Fund) Regulations for approval by the National Treasury under the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 and by Parliament under the Statutory Instruments Act, 2013, within six months.

“This Committee initiates to undertake a review of the Victim Protection Act (No. 17 of 2014) with a view to addressing textual conflict between section 19(4) and section 32(2) on responsibility for developing the victims’ rights charter, the unincorporated nature of the Victim Protection Board as set out at section 31 of the Act and other amendments required to ensure full implementation of Article 50 (9) of the Constitution,” he said.

This follows a petition to the Senate by Nayan Savla on the failure to develop, launch and operationalize a victims’ rights charter as required under sections 19(4) and 32(2) of the Victim Protection Act (No. 17 of 2014) with questions on the establishment of the Victim Protection Board as an unincorporated body and the operations of the Board since its establishment in 2016.

Savla told the committee that he had sought the assistance of police officers at Parklands Police Station and Spring Valley Police Station to resolve a contentious family matter, however he was asked to resolve the issue amicably with the concerned parties.

This led him to seek assistance from other government entities including the Commission on Administrative Justice (the Ombudsman), the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) of the National Police Service and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and in the process he became aware of the rights available to him as a victim of crime, as set out at Article 50(9) of the Constitution and in the Victim Protection Act (No. 17 of 2014).

However when Salva sought the assistance of the Victim Protection Board, his efforts were unsuccessful, a fact he attributed to the non-operationalization of a victims’ rights charter as provided for in the Victim Protection Act and thereafter, he sought to engage the Office of the AG on why the victims’ rights charter was yet to be developed and launched.

The petitioner found out that Victim Protection Board was unincorporated, it did not have a budgetary allocation and relies on the limited funds availed by the Office of the AG.

Savla noted that the board lacked full-time staff as the secretariat were officials serving in the Office of the AG. He further said that the board developed a draft victims’ rights charter but the same was yet to be approved or launched by the AG’s office.

Attorney General Justin Muturi told the committee that the Victim Protection Act, 2014 under Section 31 establishes the Victim Protection Board which handles inter-agency activities aimed at protecting victims of crime and implements preventive, protective, and rehabilitative programmes.

“The inaugural meeting of the Board was held on August 8, 2015 where a technical committee was appointed with the mandate to advise on the composition and operationalisation of the secretariat, operationalisation of the Victim Protection Trust Fund under section 27 of the Act and set up of the funds for the Board,” said Muturi.

The AG said that the technical committee further identified the Review of Victim Protection Act (challenges of implementation, funding for the Board and development of a Victims’ Rights Charter and identification, composition and operationalization of the secretariat and its role, operationalization of the Victim Protection Trustee Fund under Section 27 of the Victim Protection Act, 2014.

Muturi noted that the Board received its first budgetary allocation of Sh20 million during the Financial year 2016/2017 with the allocation increased gradually to Sh32 million during Financial year 2022/2023.

He explained that the Victim Protection Trust Fund was yet to be operationalized since the Victim Protection (Trust Fund) Regulations 2020 were pending before the National Treasury.

The AG told the Senate Committee that the Board had since developed a Strategic Plan for 2018/2019 to 2022/2023, county sensitization on the rights of the victims in counties, developed the Victim Protection (General) Regulations, 2020 and the Victim Protection (Trust Fund) Regulations, 2020 which was awaiting approval by the National treasury.

“The Board has also developed draft Victim protection (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Victim Protection Board was planning to undertake the development of a training manual for law enforcement officers as part of ensuring the literacy level for persons handling victims of crime was enhanced and developed,” said Muturi.

He told the committee that subject to availability of funds in the financial year 2023/24 the board will have the compilation and documentation of desegregated data, by age, county and gender of victims of crime for purposes of policy formulation and program direction and survey of the safe shelters for adults and the regulatory framework for the safe shelters in Kenya.

Parliament in 2014 enacted the Victim Protection Act (No. 17 of 2014) after it was assented on September 14, 2014 and commenced on October 3, 2014 with the main objective being to give effect to Article 50 (9) of the Constitution which requires Parliament to enact legislation providing for the protection, rights and welfare of victims of offences.

The Act provides for protection of victims of crime and abuse of power, better information and support services, reparation and compensation, special protection for vulnerable victims, recognize and give effect to the rights of victims of crime and support reconciliation in appropriate cases by means of a restorative justice response.

“Establishment of programmes to prevent victimisation at all levels of government, preventing re-victimization in the justice process and promote co-operation between all government departments and other organizations and agencies involved in working with victims of crime,” reads the Act.