This archive report was first published on 18 July 2020.
Published on July 18, 2020, a court ruling by Justice George Odunga has brought clarity to the roles of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the administration of justice.
The ruling settles jurisdictional disputes between the two offices, which are key to the justice system. The DCI has been taking matters to court without going through the DPP, despite the latter being constitutionally mandated to prosecute cases.
Often, cases have collapsed in court due to lack of evidence, allowing criminals to walk free and undermining the war against crime. The DCI's mandate is to collect and provide criminal intelligence and undertake investigations, but it must act on directives given to the Inspector General by the DPP.
The two offices play complementary roles and should not compete or seek to outdo each other. The current holders of the two offices, George Kinoti and Noordin Haji, were instrumental in arrests and prosecution of several corruption cases in 2018 and last year, but most of the cases have not been litigated to their logical conclusion.
The ruling raises questions about the fate of several cases in court that were filed by the DCI and which have not been arbitrated. Will they collapse automatically, and what are the implications for the parties involved?
The fight against corruption remains vexed, with resources lost due to corruption and outright theft. The public is aggrieved when many graft suits collapse simply because of lack of evidence, or take inexplicably long time to be concluded.
It is critical to give clarity and affirm the roles of the two agencies. Let the DCI and DPP keep to their roles and avoid turf wars that undermine pursuit and administration of justice.
