Judiciary and ODPP move to reduce backlog of cases

The Nairobi Remand Prison, Industrial Area. The State Department for Correctional Services has suspended a multibillion shillings tender. PHOTO | FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) and the Judiciary on Tuesday started a decongesting exercise that will involve reviewing all pending files at the Nairobi Remand Prisons, Industrial Area.

Remandees at the prison and others around Nairobi may be released during the 100 days that the prosecutors and judges will be scrutinising the files.

During the inter-disciplinary exercise, the two institutions will seek to reduce backlog of cases by ascertaining the causes of delay, identifying cases that can be expedited, influencing policy and legal reforms and identifying possible areas of interventions by stakeholders.

OVERCROWDING

The Secretary of Public Prosecutions, Dorcas Oduor, said that a team from ODPP constituting of Senior Prosecution Counsels have been appointed to work together with key stakeholders.

“We purposely launched this event at the precincts of the Nairobi Remand Prison in order to emphasize the challenges of overcrowding in remand facilities,” Mrs Oduor said.

The Nairobi Remand Prison currently holds nearly 3,100 prisoners.

As at January 17, 2018, a total of 2,532 cases are pending within the 12 magistrate court stations in Nairobi alone, with Makadara Court accounting for the highest number at 1,164 followed by Milimani which has 417 pending cases.

“The exercise will determine the status of each of the cases and establish what interventions will be employed by the ODPP so as to fast track them,” Mrs Oduor said.

The process, she said, would involve determining of the ages and stations of remandees, how long they may have been remanded and for what offense.

“Where bail and bond was ordered by court, we would want to know why the remandee has not taken that course. We are simply trying to establish why the population of remandees has not been scaled down and try and expedite the processing out of the remand facilities,” Mrs Oduor said.

Presiding Judge Criminal Division of the High Court, Lady Justice Jessie Lesiit asked the prosecutors to identify delayed matters and conclude them with speed.

Justice Lesiit who is also the Chairlady of the Bail and Bond Implementation Committee, said every accused person is entitled to ‘have the trial begin and conclude without unreasonable delay.’

In the Judiciary strategic blueprint dubbed, Sustaining Judiciary Framework: A Service-Delivery Agenda 2017-2021, Chief Justice David Maraga expressed desire that the pre-trial detentions are reduced.

“Because of this, it is important that we consider each case with an appreciation of its own particular circumstances including the nature of the offences, and the circumstances of the accused person, alive too to the special interest groups,” Justice Lesiit said.

The Constitution prohibits detention of persons accused of offences whose sentence does not exceed 6 months’ imprisonment or which are punishable by a fine only.

However, Justice Lesiit said one of the biggest challenges to the criminal justice system is the failure by persons released on personal bond to attend court.