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Law to shield chaos witnesses
Youths riot in Naivasha town at the height of the post- election violence. PHOTO/ FILE
In Summary
- Draft will soon be taken to the Cabinet before it is debated by House, says Wako
Witnesses in the post-election violence trials will be guaranteed of their safety once a draft law is passed.
The Draft Witness Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2009, had been finalised and would be taken to the Cabinet for approval before Parliament begins to debate it by December, Attorney-General Amos Wako said in Nairobi on Thursday.
He was addressing the East Africa Regional Conference on Witness Protection. The highlights of the Draft Witness Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2009, include the establishment and incorporation of a Witness Protection Agency to replace the existing Witness Protection Unit.
The agency will be delinked from the AG’s office and enjoy autonomy to discharge its mandate.
The Witness Protection Unit has been criticised for lack of independence in its tasks and finances, among other things.
To provide financial autonomy for the agency, it is proposed that it gets direct funding from the Consolidated Fund although it will also be within its legal bounds to receive grants, donations, gifts or endowments and disburse the same.
“The agency shall therefore control and administer its own funds,” said Mr Wako.
“Since its inception, the Witness Protection Unit has experienced some operational difficulties attributable largely to its lack of statutory independence and autonomy under the current legislation.”
Mr Wako said the Witness Protection Act, 2006, was inadequate to serve the purpose for which it was created owing to its inability to recruit personnel and mobilise its own resources which the Draft Bill now seeks to address.
The Witness Protection Act, 2006, provides protection against harassment or intimidation of any form to a person who has given or agreed to give evidence relating to serious crimes such as corruption and human rights abuse.
Crucial to trial
Witness protection has been identified as crucial to the trial of perpetrators of the poll chaos.
At a meeting between ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and a government delegation consisting of Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo in Geneva in July this year, the government committed itself to instituting comprehensive mechanisms to protect victims and witnesses.
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