Lawyer and Senior Principle Prosecution Counsel at the ODPP, Duncan Ondimu has said courts may soon be overwhelmed in handling sexual offences.
In an application to the Court of Appeal ruling to end mandatory sentences for sexual offenders, Ondimu said already many cases are pending in courts.
“There are approximately 15,496 cases of sexual offences pending in courts countrywide or adjudicated for the financial year 2021 to 2022,” he said.
He said the orders issued by the Court of Appeal are bound to have serious irreversible implications as persons who are already serving sentences under the Sexual Offenses Act of 2006 are at liberty to petition various cases.
Ondimu said that already, trial courts are in the process of reviewing sentences considering the decision of the Court of Appeal.
“The decision has led to chaos, confusion and uncertainty in the determination of sexual offences through inconsistent sentences ranging from non-custodial to probationary sentences for grave offences,” he said.
This means that courts handling sexual offence cases have to deal with re-trials and hearings for cases already brought to them.
If some sentences will be reduced, it also means that survivors of sexual violence will have to see perpetrators sooner and re-live their trauma.
“The survivors of sexual offences in Kenya stand to suffer further prejudice and injustice should my appeal not be granted,” he said.
