NAIROBI Kenya May 30 -The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has said he will focus on terrorism and violent extremism, economic crimes if appointed the Director General of the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Haji, while being vetted for the position on Tuesday May 30 his focus will also include promotion of human-based intelligence collection while still promoting technology-based intelligence collection.
The DPP said recruitment into the NIS will also cater for low cadre officers who can gather intelligence even from the remote and far flung areas.
“We might have to recruit people who finished Form Four and not just confine ourselves to degree and diploma holders,” he said
Haji, who was put to task over the past withdrawal of cases defended himself saying the Constitution allowed him to.
According to Haji, withdrawal of cases was normal saying in 2019/20, a total of 10,600 cases were withdrawn from court while in 2020/21, another 18,750 cases were also withdrawn.
He attributed the high number of cases -25,716 cases –during the 2021/2022 to the Covid-19 pandemic that prompted the decongestion of prisons.
The DPP also blamed some of the investigative officers for deliberately misleading his office into recommending some charges.
He said in one of the cases, some of the documents examined by the DCI’s Document Examiners were done fraudulently through coercion by their director.
He added that his office had already written to the Inspector General of Police to conduct investigations and said any officer found culpable will be charged in court.
To make the Service more accountable and professional, Haji said he will, among other things, operationalize the Intelligence Service Complaints Board that is tasked with receiving and inquiring into complaints against the Service, the DG or any member of the Service.
“I will go and look at why there have been delays to operationalize it. That will be one way of dealing with complaints against officers adequately. What I want to assure the committee is that I will ensure that NIS observe Constitution and the rule of law,” he said
“If appointed, I will ensure that the Service provides accurate, timely, actionable and consumer specific intelligence briefings and will observe highest fidelity to the rule and respect the basic human rights,” he said.
Haji, who appeared before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations chaired by Belgut MP Nelson Koech, also promised that under his watch, the security agencies will annihilate religious extremism of any kind and source.
“We should appreciate that extremism is not just domiciled in Islamic extremism as it has been viewed, but also Christian or Hindu extremism,” he said.
If appointed, Haji will return to the NIS after a six-year sojourn as the DPP and will be the principal advisor to the President and Government on national security, responsible for the overall management and administration of the Service, and participate in the formulation of national intelligence policy and strategy.
He is likely to replace General Philip Kameru who retired after his term was extended by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The DG should serve for a term of five years, but can serve a maximum of two sequential terms in office.
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