Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi and Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet have, among key proposals, been fronting the decriminalization of minor traffic offences in a bid to decongest correctional service institutions/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 23 – Senior Interior Ministry officials are Friday scheduled to meet stakeholders in the Governance, Justice, Law, and Order sector in ongoing efforts to enhance efficiency.
Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi and Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet have, among key proposals, been fronting the decriminalization of minor traffic offences in a bid to decongest correctional service institutions.
Matiangi has particularly been vocal on what has been seen as mandatory detention of traffic offenders before their arraignment in court for them to pay fines that could otherwise be charged instantly.
“What is the essence of having someone in a remand facility where we’ll spend Sh 60,000 on their upkeep for offences for which they are fined Sh 600,” Matiangi remarked on Thursday when he graced the closing ceremony of an eight-week induction programme for newly enlisted persecutors.
The CS pledged to work in concert with other government agencies including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to decongest remand centres.
“Our remand facilities are almost crammed full but our joint efforts with the ODPP together with the National Community Service Orders Committee, which is chaired by Hon. Justice Luka Kimaru, are yielding the much desired progress in this endeavour,” Matiangi said.
In the Sh 3.07 trillion 2018/19 budget, the National Treasury significantly improved funding for the justice sector with a Sh 6.4 billion allocation for the criminal investigation services.
The ODPP was allocated Sh2.9 billion compared to Sh2.3 billion in the 2017-2018 budget.
The Office of the Attorney General was allocated Sh5.1 billion, with funding for the Financial Reporting Centre increased to Sh587 million up from Sh300 million in the 2017-2018 budget.
The Assets Recovery Agency, one of the key bodies in the fight against corruption was allotted Sh161 million.
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