The Victims' Protection Board, the body tasked with assisting victims of crime, is literally limping and operating on a shoestring in its day-to-day operations, according to a report tabled in Parliament.
The report, which covers the board's operations for the 2023/24 financial year, highlights the sorry state of the critical agency, which risks closing its doors to thousands of crime victims if it is not urgently rescued.
Financial problems, staffing shortages, legal challenges and a lack of autonomy have left the agency in the red and it has warned that victims may not be able to access its services unless the state comes to its rescue.
The situation is so bad that the report highlights that one computer at the agency is used by seven staff, while it's donors who are keeping its financial operations going due to dwindling funds from the treasury.
"The board requires a budget allocation of about Sh450 million, but the board has only been allocated Sh32 million, leaving a funding gap of Sh418 million. The funding gap has adversely affected the implementation of the Board's intended commitments to victims of crime," the report says.
"Adequate funding and proper utilisation of resources are essential to ensure that the Victims Protection Board is able to fulfil its mandate of protecting the rights and interests of victims across the country," it says. The board says in its report that its financial allocation has been dwindling each financial year, crippling its operationalisation.
"Victims of crime continue to suffer due to lack of access to services. This has led to an over-dependence on donor support, which is inconsistent and thus poses a challenge to the implementation of victim programmes," the report says.
Under the Victim Protection Act no. CAP 79A, the Board has a mandate to protect victims of crime during the pre-trial, trial and post-trial stages with the aim of minimising revictimisation and victimisation by creating an environment that empowers the victim in the criminal justice system.
The Board is also mandated to ensure the protection and support of victims of crime, oversee the implementation of the Victim Protection Act and facilitate access to justice for victims;
The Board, however, faces a challenging task in fulfilling this mandate as the Victim Protection Act CAP 79A, is yet to be fully operationalised for various reasons such as the conflicting jurisprudence of the courts on the interpretation of who is a victim? and the role and involvement of lawyers representing victims in the criminal justice process.
In addition, the Board is not legally established and lacks the legal powers and autonomy to fulfil its mandate. There are also subsidiary laws to operationalise the law, which are still awaiting public participation and legislative approval.
Some cases have been pending in Kenya's courts for decades.
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The Board states in its report that it has already completed the drafting of the Victim Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Public Finance Management (Victim Protection Fund) Regulations, 2024 and the Victim Protection General Regulations, 2024 as a step towards operationalising CAP 79A.
The report states that the Victim Protection Act was enacted in September 2014 with several inconsistencies and ambiguities, which will be amended to bring it into conformity with the provision of victim protection services.
These ambiguities include an unincorporated board with no agency, therefore the board cannot sue or be sued.
Furthermore, the law does not distinguish between the role of the Board of Trustees of the Victim Protection Trust Fund and the members of the Victim Protection Board.
Prior to the enactment of the 2010 Constitution, victims of crime were often marginalised and given minimal attention in the criminal justice process, which focused primarily on the rights of the accused.
As a result, victims endured ongoing physical, emotional, psychological, economic and social harm from both the crime itself and the procedural aspects of the justice system
The Board decried the rise of cybercrime globally has led to technology facilitated gender based violence which includes, cyber bullying, sextortion, online sexual exploitation, online harassment, identity theft leading to new and emerging victims of crime in society as some of the emerging issues that also affect its operations.
