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{
"id": 6109,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/6109/?format=api",
"text_counter": 116,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Muigai",
"speaker_title": "The Attorney-General",
"speaker": {
"id": 408,
"legal_name": "Githu Muigai",
"slug": "githu-muigai"
},
"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply. (a) A total of 6,081 cases were reported during the PEV period and they covered the following offences: murder, robbery with violence, arson, malicious damage to property, assault, grievous harm, being armed in a public place, taking part in a riot, breaking, entering and theft, publishing false rumours, theft of stock and theft of farm produce. Out of 6,081 reported cases, 553 cases have been taken to court with the accused persons being charged with various offences between January, 2008 and October, 2011. Two hundred and fifty eight cases have so far been concluded and the accused persons have been convicted. Eighty seven cases were acquitted under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code due to lack of sufficient evidence. One hundred and thirty eight cases were withdrawn under Section 87, 202 and 204 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Fifty cases are currently pending before various courts while 400 cases are still under active investigation. Five thousand five hundred and twenty four cases are also pending under general investigation. (b) Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, investigations into these cases remain incomplete because the complainants and their witnesses have not returned to their areas of residence prior to the displacement, despite efforts being made by the police to trace them. The District Criminal Investigations Officers (DCIOs) is the respective divisions have been advised to ensure that all pending cases are forwarded to the respective prosecution counsels for advice and direction and to ensure that they are concluded immediately. Officers Commanding Police Divisions (OCPDs) and DCIOs have been advised to make a follow up on the inquest files and files that they claim were taken by the taskforce from police headquarters and finalize investigations thereof. (c) Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, all case files relating to PEV are submitted to prosecution counsel for perusal and advice. The investigating team has been asked to identify cases that have no likelihood of progressing further to be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice on eventual determination. The Witness Protection Act, Cap.79 was operationalized on 1st September, 2008. On 11th August, 2011, the Witness Protection Agency and the Witness Protection Advisory Board were launched in line with this Act. Further, the Attorney-General and the Acting Director of the Witness Protection Agency held productive discussions at the Attorney- General’s Chambers with the Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Madame Silvana Arbia on co-operation between the ICC on matters of witness protection in Kenya. Moreover, in the month of October, 2011, the Attorney-General accompanied by the DPP and the Acting Director of the Witness Protection Agency visited the ICC at the Hague and carried out further discussions with the relevant departments of the ICC and in particular, with the Witness Protection Unit on the specific aspect of the protection of Kenyan witnesses. In the two interactions with the ICC officers, the ICC has maintained its commitment to assist Kenya where necessary and possible, to grow and strengthen the witness protection mechanism locally. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to bring to the attention of the hon. Members that the witness protection programme in Kenya is only one of the two in the whole of the African Continent, the other one being in South Africa. Kenya would, therefore, benefit a great deal from interacting with other institutions that have experience in this matter, such as the ICC."
}