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Justice system must prove itself in 2020

Friday, January 3rd, 2020 07:47 | By
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti. Photo/FILE

The Judiciary, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions are entering the new year with full in-trays.

The DPP has the task of sifting through files submitted by DCI to ensure accused persons face justice through legal means.

Even as the Judiciary remains the ultimate arbiter, it has the challenge of remaining neutral and balance the rights of the accused against the wellbeing of the public to safeguard the latter.

But it is the DCI that must, finally bear the burden of ensuring the evidence passed on to the DPP carries the day, and that lawbreakers are punished accordingly.

And it is here that the challenge lies; that of battling claims of few convictions, which lie squarely in the domain of the Judiciary.

DCI boss George Kinoti is on record as having defended the level of investigations conducted by his officers before files are passed on to the DPP.

Unluckily for Kinoti, no one has the benefit of verifying the depth of probe expected to translate into convictions. Perhaps he gets the flak on behalf of other parties.

The Judiciary has been blamed for letting criminals escape with a slap on the wrist, citing a below-par evidence threshold. Sadly, this is not subject to public scrutiny. 

That raises certain questions. For instance, when suspects arraigned are released on bail but commit further crimes, who is to blame that public safety is endangered? Is the suspect’s right to freedom counterbalanced by public safety?

Granted, the Judiciary faces its own challenges and has managed to dispense of 300,000 of the 400,000 cases filed in its registries every year.

But its endeavour to dispense justice has come under focus for the wrong reasons.

Cases cited include the tendency by suspects, especially in corruption cases, to rush to court even before arrest to secure anticipatory bail. It is tantamount to giving freedom to a person suspected to have committed a crime. It ties the hands of the police, and in a bad way.

Courts must ensure they sit at the table of judgement and listen to the two parties before making a decision. Bail even before arrest sends all the wrong signals to the public.

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