Tobiko laments on funding to directorate

Written By:Judth Akolo,    Posted: Mon, Jun 27, 2011

Tobiko said the limited funds are undermining efforts to raise the standards of prosecutions and delivery of justice in the country. The Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko says his department is poorly funded resulting to underperformance by his officers. Addressing the 32 newly hired prosecutors undergoing training at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies in Nairobi Monday, Tobiko said that continued limited funding by the government will frustrate efforts to reform the institution and improve service delivery. He said that it beats logic for the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to be allocated Kshs.355 million against the over 1.6 billion shillings to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission. The DPP said for his office to effectively handle the many cases on its desk, the government must increase funding. He said that he needs money for recruiting, training and retaining personnel if the institution is to discharge its mandate in line with the new constitution. The main function of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission is to combat prevent corruption through enforcement of the law, educating the public and enlisting their support against corruption and providing preventive services through promotion or development of good practices to seal loop holes that faciliate corruption.  According to Keriako his Directorate is charged with the mandate of advising the government on all criminal matters, undertake public prosecutions and represent the state in criminal prosecutions, appeals and revisions. Speaking at U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division and Department of Public Prosecutions trial advocacy training program Tobiko called for political goodwill and understanding to help revamp a department that has in the past been blamed for poor services. He urged the public to avoid politicizing the fight against crime and let professionals deal with it effectively. The DPP is set to phase out police prosecutors in an effort to make the department more informed and educated on matters of prosecutions and handling of cases. Tobiko says the Directorate has already identified some 300 police officers who can effectively serve as prosecutors and will soon be appointed to the Directorate. He noted that globally crime is evolving fast with the advent of new technologies and said it was time for Kenya to embark on a spirited move to inculcate the training personnel on how to deal with the new worrying trend including the upsurge of piracy, money laundering and terrorism. Tobiko said the DPP currently lacks sufficient staff, "Today we have just under 83 prosecuting counsel in the country against a requirement of 500 while support staff are 108 against a requirement of 1000," said Tobiko. The DPP said poor remuneration is also a major concern as recruiting, training and retention of qualified personnel at the Directorate is worrying since most opt for better paying opportunities. He called for support from the media, the public and politicians without politicizing the fight against crime.