This archive report was first published on 25 June 2020.
Published on June 25, 2020, a proposed Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2020 aims to strengthen the war against corruption in Kenya.
Corruption remains the single most destructive factor that undermines economic growth in Kenya, with billions of shillings lost through graft every year. The war against the vice has been hampered by legal loopholes, leading to delays in prosecuting suspects and convicting the culprits.
High-profile corruption cases have stalled in the courts due to the slow judicial process, with suspects adept at manipulating systems often escaping punishment after stealing from the public. Conversely, innocent people accused of fraud endure a long wait to have their suits determined, undermining due process.
The proposed Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2020 seeks to address these issues by proposing a strict timeline for concluding corruption cases, which must be decided within two years. It also aims to empower the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to rein in public officers with secret offshore accounts.
For the proposed laws to be effective, other agencies must play their part. Investigative agencies and the Directorate of Public Prosecution must conduct thorough and expeditious investigations and present incontrovertible evidence that would sustain conviction in court.
Often, cases collapse due to shoddy investigation and weak evidence, which can be attributed to incompetence or willful deficiency intended to save suspects from conviction. Additionally, incidents where cases collapse due to sibling rivalry between investigators and prosecutors seeking to outdo each other underscore the need for a regime where judicial officers, investigators, and prosecutors work in sync.
