Kenya Cabinet set on witness protection

A powerful agency with the authority to arrest and detain suspects could be set up to protect witnesses in post-election violence trials.

The Cabinet meets on Thursday morning to debate and approve a Bill that seeks to establish the Witness Protection Agency, whose wide-ranging powers will assure the security of potential witness against the masterminds of the violence and other related cases, among them corruption.

The decision to push through the Witness Protection (Amendment) Bill of 2009 is the government’s response to international and local demands for a water-tight law that makes it possible for witnesses to give information without fear of reprisals.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has written to both the government and the Pre-Trial Chamber, expressing his concern about the threats. Sources on Wednesday said the government was determined to rush through the law by publishing it on Friday in readiness for debate when Parliament reopens on February 23.

The Bill, still in draft form, proposes radical changes to the current Witness Protection Act passed in 2006. It seeks to dissolve the Witness Protection Unit and replace it with the independent Witness Protection Agency.

Chaired by a director who will be a qualified lawyer, the agency will run a witness programme which will include securing witnesses, concealing their identity, sometimes giving them new identities and relocating them if the need arises.

The Agency, which is to have special exemption from other laws, will have the powers to buy, stock, and use firearms and spy gadgets that will be required in their covert operations. The director and staff will enjoy the powers and privileges of police officers.

Agency officers will have the powers to summon public officers and individuals to produce documents linked to their work.

The proposed new law grants the Agency financial autonomy, stating that its money will be drawn directly from the Consolidated Fund. It will also have the powers to receive grants and donations.