- The DPP said his office was keeping vigilance to ensure “that insufficient or arbitrarily acquired evidence will not be used to prefer charges.”
- •Interior CS Matiang'i said in reforming the police to be rights-conscious, the state was keen in the success of community policing.
Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has lamented what he calls pervasive abuse of human rights in the criminal justice sector.
From use of excessive force by police officers, torture of suspects, arbitrary arrests and detentions, enforced disappearances to extraction of evidence through unlawful means, Haji said the sector was riddled with impunity yet it is supposed to be the bastion of the rule of law.
“Our sector has witnessed instances within the criminal justice system where rights have been violated, through the use of excessive force; torture; arrests and detentions without reasonable cause; interference with one’s private life, destruction of property; disregard for the presumption of innocence; and not reading one their rights; or allowing them to have legal representation are commonplace before trials,” he said.
The DPP spoke on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the second conference of the National Council of Administration of Justice led by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and police chief Hillary Mutyambai were also in attendance.
Citing the River Yala incidents where tens of bodies were discovered on suspicion they were dumped there by police, Haji said the sector needed to be alive to the rule of law that is supposed to be its guiding light.
“... arbitrary detention deprives the accused of their fundamental freedom….the increasing cases of victim families decrying enforced disappearances and the River Yala situation is also evidence of a criminal justice system that is critically violating the rights of the accused.”
“It is instances such as these that breed great distrust in criminal justice actors from the public. As such, they are perceived as the sources of insecurity rather than beacons of protection, law, and order. This perception undermines the rule of law and goes against the tenets of democracy.”
The DPP said his office was keeping vigilance to ensure “that insufficient or arbitrarily acquired evidence will not be used to prefer charges.”
He said he was concerned that “instances of mishandled evidence are becoming increasingly pervasive” and that in most cases, the evidence presented to him by investigative agencies is limited, has been altered, or has been acquired through improper procedural processes.
“Any proceedings with [illegally obtained] evidence are unconstitutional and undermine our competence as criminal justice actors,” he said.
“Inadmissible evidence impedes our ability, as prosecutors, to effectively carry out our mandate as we are unable to present watertight cases to court. Further, instituting charges against accused persons with insufficient evidence results in denial of justice to the victims, and violates the right to a fair trial for the accused,” Haji added.
The DPP said his office has also witnessed cases where police invade the privacy protection of suspects and misuse their personal information especially in offences involving children.
"Children in conflict with the law often require sensitivity by the criminal justice system for their safety and ultimate well-being."
"Contact with the criminal justice system is detrimental to the youth and often increases the likelihood of recidivism," he said.
CJ Koome said instances of violation of human rights in the sector were unacceptable and a miscarriage of justice.
"A failure to affirm the dignity of any person in contact or conflict with the law and a failure to uphold their rights at any stage of the criminal justice process is a miscarriage of justice," she said.
Interior CS Matiang'i said in reforming the police to be rights-conscious, the state was keen in the success of community policing.
He said community policing was effective in enhancing public participation in prevention of crimes and helps in reducing police getting into contact with criminals.
"In many cases, studies have shown that the less the police are involved in crime investigations, arrest, detention and the use of force, the less likely are cases of human rights violation. This is an important gate keeping mechanism in achieving "a human rights approach to policing," Matiang'i added.