The kind of investigations carried out by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations will go a long way in determining whether Kenyans will ever get justice through convictions in court or not.
The convictions will be based on the type of evidence assembled by the DCI. For now, the DCI will have to present that evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions who must approve the charges based on the type of evidence produced by the DCI.
If the DPP approves the charges and there is watertight evidence, then there would be a likelihood of conviction. If the evidence is shoddy, an acquittal is assured and the DCI would have an egg on his face.
For now, Kenyans cannot expect anything less than a watertight investigation that would bring forth evidence to secure a conviction.
I have seen a lot of pressure of late from the public pushing those in government who have been adversely mentioned in graft reports to step aside.
However, Kenyans cannot demand what is not provided in law. Neither can they arrogate to themselves the power to demand people to vacate office.
Someone will vacate office when a certain law compels them to leave office and pave way for any form of investigation.
For instance, if a civil servant is charged in a court of law, the Ethics and Integrity act demands that they are suspended until the matters they are facing are concluded and they are off the hook.
In this case, tell me who has been charged? Nobody.
The public is behaving as some people behaved during Jesus’ time. When the law found that Jesus was not guilty, the public demanded that they be given the chance to punish him and crucify him.
Given the current judicial process and democratic space, nobody will vacate office just because the public is saying he should vacate.
The President’s hands are actually tied. The President swore to defend the Constitution and cannot, therefore, remove somebody from office just because someone here or there is saying that person should vacate office.
Let somebody be arraigned in court and then the law will prevail for the suspects to step aside until they are cleared.
The lawyer and analyst spoke to the Star.
