State seeks stiffer penalties to deter organised crime
Sheria House in Nairobi. The government is pushing for stiffer penalties for offences related to organised crime
The state intends to tighten laws used to combat organised crimes such as corruption and money laundering in the country by enhancing penalties and freezing suspected illicit wealth for longer periods.
In the proposed amendment of the Prevention of Organised Crimes Act, 2010, the government is seeking to increase the fine prescribed for the offence of disclosing information to a suspect from Sh500,000 to Sh10 million.
Other forms of organised criminal activities targeted by the law changes include fraud, drug trafficking, public asset misappropriation, financial crimes, terrorism, firearms trafficking, extortion, illicit trade in counterfeit goods and other illegal commodities.
Currently, the main suspects and defendants in corruption, financial crimes and asset recovery offences are government officials and persons doing business with public entities.
Upon conviction, the person will either serve an jail term not exceeding 10 years or be subjected to both the fine of Sh10 million and the jail term.
Section 13 of the Act create an offence of “disclosure of information” and states that it is a criminal offence to disclose to another person any information that is likely to prejudice the police investigation.
It also states that it is an offence to interfere with materials that are relevant to the investigations.
It states that “a person who, knowing or having reasonable cause to suspect that a police officer is conducting an investigation into the activities of an organised criminal group, discloses to another person anything which is likely to prejudice the investigation; or interferes with material which is likely to be relevant to the investigation, commits an offence”.
To avoid conviction, a person charged with an offence under this section will have to satisfy the court that he or she did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that the disclosure or interference was likely to affect an investigation. The accused will also have to satisfy the court that he or she had a lawful excuse for the disclosure or interference.
The government-sponsored proposed legal changes also seek to extend the period after which a court order obtained in relation to tracing of suspected illicit property will lapse. It seeks to extend the period from 30 days to 90 days from the date of the order, unless the High Court, after hearing the parties, directs otherwise.
During the period, police will be able to trace, confiscate, seize and forfeit suspected proceeds of organised criminal group activities.
Suits involving forfeiture of assets are mostly filed by the Asset Recovery Agency and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
In the recent past, the government has intensified the war on organised crimes and dirty deals through seizure of property and cash and freezing of bank accounts linked to suspects.
A 2022 survey by EACC indicates that most common forms of unethical conduct in Kenya’s public service is corruption/bribery at 40.1 per cent, abuse of office (33.5 per cent), fraud/embezzlement (33.2 per cent) and putting self-interest before the public interest (32.7 per cent).
A report by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in June 2022 on organised crime and armed conflicts in Eastern Africa states that “Kenya remains a transit point for heroin from Afghanistan with Europe as final destination, mainly through Mombasa port”.
Criminal organisations are involved notably in a range of frauds and financial crimes, but also in other illicit markets such as drug and human trafficking, poaching, wildlife trafficking, armed robberies and illegal trafficking of goods across airports and sea ports.
