Haji said that such actions would cripple the offices of the Director of Public Prosecution and Director of Criminal Investigations in discharging their duties as well as jeopardizing the status of witnesses and evidence in criminal cases/file
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 1 – The Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji has appealed to the Chief Justice David Maraga to intervene after the High Court issued an order barring the prosecution of Prof Tom Ojienda who is facing corruption charges.
Through a statement released on Monday, Haji said that such actions would cripple the offices of the Director of Public Prosecution and Director of Criminal Investigations in discharging their duties as well as jeopardizing the status of witnesses and evidence in criminal cases.
“Such deleterious trend is likely to erode public confidence in the criminal justice system, due process and a major setback in the fight against corruption has been noted and is worrisome,” he stated.
Haji said judicial independence should not be used by individuals to stop their prosecution.
“Whereas the Judiciary enjoys institutional and operational independence, the prosecution is concerned about these orders, all in favour of a particular litigant, raising serious questions on the principle of equality before the law,” stated Haji.
Haji also directed the prosecution team to prepare a response to the petition and assured Kenyans of DPP’s resolve to prosecute corruption cases robustly and with renewed commitment.
Ojienda was released on Sunday after lawyers from the Law Society of Kenya criticized the move of arresting him saying his arrest was a violation of his constitutional rights.
Ojienda was arrested over alleged misappropriation and fraudulent dealings at the Mumias Sugar Company.
Ojienda has since denied those claims saying that his arrest is in bad faith.
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