Preparations for the 2022 General Election have gone a notch higher, with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions launching the training of 150 special prosecutors.
The prosecutors will handle offences and hate speech cases arising from the August 9 polls.
The two-day workshop seeks to equip the prosecutors with advanced legal know-how on issues such as the evidentiary threshold and handling cases of human rights violations among other issues.
Speaking at the start of the training Wednesday, the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji said it was unfortunate that elections, which should be a simple civic duty, are antagonistic, with Kenyans even equating them to insecurity.
“We have to build resilience from the past experiences we have gone through. This, however, does not mean we are blind to the reality we face and that is why this training for our prosecutors is very important,” he said.
The workshop, DPP Haji said, would be critical in ensuring efficient reporting and mapping of potential hotspots during the elections, enhancing the gathering and collation of data and formulating responsive policies and timely interventions by his office.
This workshop, alongside the recent establishment of the Hate Speech and Election Preparedness Division and the launch of a compendium on electoral justice three months ago, is among the interventions adopted by the ODPP in preparations for the General Election, which is less than three weeks away.
To bring justice closer to Kenyans, the ODPP announced that a 24-hour call centre for Kenyans who need legal aid related to the elections will be opened at the close of the workshop.
IEBC Director of Legal and Public Affairs Chrispine Owiye said the training of the prosecutors was a major boost to the agency as it would provide efficient collaboration with the ODPP in handling offences arising from the elections.
He explained that areas of collaboration between the ODPP and the IEBC include safeguarding election materials under the custody of the electoral agency that needs to be transmitted safely to the ODPP.
“The other area of collaboration is the procurement of witnesses. The first witness expected to take the stand is the returning officer responsible for that area,” he said.
He added that because of this, “there is a need for collaboration so that the responsibility of securing witnesses and ensuring they attend court when bonded by ODPP happens”.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights chairperson Roseline Odede said the agency had deployed 150 monitors nationally to observe and report on election-related happenings.
“Elections should be a democratic process and not a security process. Kenyans do not have to migrate to areas where they feel safe during elections. This feeling of insecurity should be addressed rightfully,” she said.
National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) CEO Skitter Ocharo highlighted hate speech and ethnic contempt as the key areas of concern, saying everyone should work on accelerating the achievement of political and social rights.
“We need all stakeholders, including the media, to assist us by providing the NCIC and the ODPP with evidence of hate speech and ethnic contempt while covering politicians. The editors should also be careful and edit out parts that may incite Kenyans to turn on each other,” she said.
For her part, Witness Protection Agency CEO Jedidah Waruhiu called on the State to ensure that witnesses testifying in election-related cases are protected lest they fall victim to bribery, threats, intimidation and even elimination.
Independent Policing Oversight Authority CEO Elema Halake said his agency was keenly monitoring police conduct.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police to share with them their operation plans for the elections and ensure impartiality when investigating cases arising from the elections.
