NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 12- The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has expressed its opposition to proposed legal amendments, that if approved will grant the Directorate of Criminal Investigations prosecutorial powers.
ODPP says such attempts would amount to infringing on the separation of prosecutorial and investigative powers.
“Any attempt to amend laws to take away the independence of the prosecutorial framework should be vehemently opposed for its unconstitutionality. As ODPP we will continue to work with all actors in the criminal justice system; to collaborate and cooperate on our different mandates,” the Noordin Haji led ODPP said in a Tweet.
The ODPP, the office added, “believes that separation of prosecution and investigation powers provides a check and balance in the system and enables accountability of decision making.”
“It is for this reason, the ODPP has never sought to be equipped with investigative powers.”
A draft legislative proposal by Alego Usonga Member of Parliament Samuel Atandi seeks to strip the ODPP of powers to appoint public prosecutors and give them to DCI.
The MP wants the 2013 ODPP Act amended to effect the changes.
His argument is that the ODPP has lost many cases due to incompetent prosecutors, handling technical cases.
“These DCI investigators have been trained locally and internationally of specialization. Moreover, the DCI has a number of advocates of the High Court who are also trained in investigations,” reads the proposal.
The MP further argues officers at the DCI are trained in cybercrime, forensics, ballistics, scene of crime analysis… which has been a challenge for prosecutors at the ODPP.
Still, on Monday, the ODPP refuted claims of having an acrimonious relationship with other investigative agencies like DCI and the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC).
“Members of the public and the media should not perceive a decision by the DPP not to charge or prosecute as a personal issue that affects the relationship of the different investigative agencies undertaking their constitutional mandates. The relationship is symbiotic,” the ODPP said.
Shahidi News has however established that there has been growing tension between ODPP and DCI, and it has led to some embarrassing moments right in court.
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