NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 28 – Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has asked the Senate to shoot down a petition by a citizen seeking to deny bail to suspects of graft, rape and robbery with violence.
Haji told the Senate Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee during a session on Tuesday that allowing the petition would contravene the Constitutional principle which dictates that the person is innocent until proven guilty.
“Article 50(2) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 guarantees a presumption of innocence on all accused persons regardless of the nature of the offence(s). There is already in place the Victims Protection Act passed by Parliament pursuant to Article 50( 9) of the Constitution. This Act contains detailed provisions on the rights of victims including participating in criminal proceedings,” the DPP explained
Taratisio Ireri Kawe, through a petition submitted to the Senate in August, sought to amend the Constitution and relevant laws, including the Penal Code, to have the suspects detained until their cases are concluded.
In addition, Kawe asked the House to amend Article 49 of the Constitution and introduce classification of types of offenses and a maximum number of days a suspect of specific offences is held in custody citing frustrations suffered by victims of heinous acts like rape who have in some cases been compelled to abandon cases as offenders are freed on bond.
“The ambiguity should be removed and hefty bail and bond terms on all financial crimes in nature, economic crimes and all crimes well being against them introduced,” Kawe stated in a petition which was submitted before the Senate in August.
Senators Mutula Kilonzo Junior (Makueni), Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi) and James Orengo (Siaya) said an attempt to deny suspects of any crime bail is a dangerous trend and should not be entertained by the legislature.
“The ODPP has given sufficient reasons legal, constitutional, statutory and otherwise, why we can not have a claw-back on Human Rights provisions outlined in the Constitution,” said the Siaya Senator.
Nairobi Senator Sakaja added: ” What the DPP has said is very true and very clear, on top of the instruments and how we run things in Kenya, I think it is very clear that those rights of bail and bonds are already there.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, I think this petition should have been dismissed summarily because it is a claw-back on The Bill of Rights,” Makueni Senator Kilonzo Junior stated.
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