The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has said that there are regulations on plea bargaining so that suspects ready to plead guilty are either given lenient sentences or co-opted as part of the prosecution’s witnesses.
Without the regulations, the original sentence against such suspects lies with the court and not the ODPP, meaning that the DPP can only apply to the court to have charges stopped only if an individual cooperates.
Murder suspect Evans Kasyoki (left) with his lawyer Victor Kariuki
In case the individual violates the agreement, the DPP can use his powers to restore the charges.
“We are looking at how we can make plea bargaining flexible. As long as the law is what it is, we will continue to take every suspect to court,” Ms Oduor said in response to why the DPP is keen to charge everyone, not enter into plea bargain arrangementS with suspects.
Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, DPP Noordin Haji and Public Prosecutions Secretary Dorcas Oduor said they are working with the Attorney-General to have a special fund established for monies recovered from foreign accounts as well as locally.
For instance, money paid by banks involved in shady dealings in the National Youth Service (NYS) scandal will be returned to the service.
Ms Oduor defended the arrest of suspects pending investigations, noting that it is difficult to get evidence with them in custody.
She said this enables investigators to get information required and limit the suspects from interfering with witnesses and evidence.
Mr Haji also defended cases currently in court saying he had enough evidence to mount successful prosecutions; he boasted of 22 convictions from 88 anti-corruption cases involving Sh16.8 billion.
There have been about 19 acquittals and three withdrawals, while 338 cases are ongoing.