In the recent past, criminal justice issues have come to the fore in the country, with the rise of crime in urban and rural areas.
Criminal activities blamed on gangs and extrajudicial killings by the police have been rising leading to members of the public calling for action to tame the situation.
Coupled with the ever-present threat of crime, terrorism and violent extremism in different parts of Kenya, the state of security has triggered the attention of various actors.
There has been a demand for more action from the justice system to address the deteriorating state of security in the country and ensure improved access to justice and rule of law for and by all.
In addressing justice matters, criminal justice actors such as the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Judiciary, the Director of Criminal Investigations and human rights groups have been on the receiving end as the public points fingers at them for not following up to ensure justice, especially on extrajudicial killings.
Conversely, criminal justice actors have also accused each other of stalemate in the sector.
Police blame courts for releasing suspects. Courts blame the DPP for not presenting watertight cases, while the prosecutor’s office blames the DCI for not doing proper investigations.
Human rights groups, on the other hand, blame police officers for killings, while the cops accuse lobby groups of what they consider to be siding with criminals and bad elements in society.
In the confusion, criminal elements, including gangs and violent extremists, have taken advantage of the situation to portray the justice system as a failed structure that cannot deliver much-needed justice to communities, particularly those perceived to be marginalised and discriminated against.
They have used this rhetoric to recruit unsuspecting youth into their ranks by hoodwinking them that justice will be delivered through their criminal ideologies and terror activities.
It is as a result of this that for the past decade or so, hundreds of youth from Kenya, particularly the Coast and Northeastern, have been radicalised into joining gangs, al Shabaab and other criminal groups.
This has contributed to high levels of crime, radicalisation and violent extremism.
The situation calls for an urgent need to bring the criminal justice sector and actors to work together to address the existent bottlenecks that clog the system and make justice appear elusive to many Kenyans, particularly those in the Coast and Northeastern regions.
Making justice accessible would directly address a key contributor to crime, violent extremism and radicalisation ideologies.
Based on this background, efforts have been made to enhance access to justice and enjoyment of human rights with the sole purpose of building faith in the justice system and countering the narrative that it is impossible or hard to get justice within the formal justice system in Kenya.
The efforts have borne fruits as justice actors are now more coordinated and communities are seeing justice being delivered.
Under the leadership of the DPP, justice actors are now also reaching out to communities and listening to their views.
In the last two years, the country has seen prosecutors, judges and police holding public meetings to receive feedback from communities.
DPP Noordin Haji has held public meetings in hard to reach places, including Lamu, to bridge the gap between justice actors and the public.
In the process, the DPP brought down important officials such as the Attorney General to also hear the cries of the people.
These initiatives have strengthened communities’ faith in justice actors and in the process built resilience of communities to crime and radicalisation.
More of such public engagements need to be held so that people come face to face with “justice”.
This week in Mombasa, it was reported that anti-terror police foiled an attack and arrested two suspects at the Likoni ferry.
They were on a mission to attack.
The incident is testimony that we must not let our guard down. Justice actors play a pivotal role in countering crime and narratives of extremists through their work.
If we support them to deliver justice to Kenyans, we will have won a big part of the battle against crime, extremism and radicalisation.
