Photo/FILE Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo on August 1, 2011 said the allocation in this year’s budget was short of the required figure that would have enabled the agency to run a protection programme for any of the witnesses who have been lined up by ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Monday, August 1 2011 at 22:30
Posted Monday, August 1 2011 at 22:30
The Witness Protection Agency has been allocated Sh300 million, ruling out the possibility of Kenya providing cover for the people who will give evidence against the Ocampo Six when confirmation of charges hearings begin next month.
The agency, which is set to be launched formally in two weeks, had requested Sh1.2 billion to set up its operations and play a role in the efforts by the government to wrest the case against The Hague Six from the International Criminal Court.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo on Monday said the allocation in this year’s budget was short of the required figure that would have enabled the agency to run a protection programme for any of the witnesses who have been lined up by ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
“We are not ready to give protection to any of the Ocampo witnesses. We only received Sh300 million which when we add to the Sh50 million we got in the Supplementary Budget last year, we have Sh350 million. We cannot get anywhere with this,” he said by telephone.
The funds, Mr Kilonzo said, were short of the figure required by the agency to set up its operations and recruit professional staff to run the highly sensitive protection programme.
“We had requested Sh1.2 billion because this is a very covert programme. I have always said the programme requires adequate funds but I cannot go against what Parliament has decided,” he said.
The agency, has the task of protecting witnesses who will give evidence on crimes such as war violations, piracy, drug trafficking and paedophilia among others. The protection includes the option of moving a witness abroad.
The Witness Protection Act, which establishes the agency, says in part: “The object and purpose of the agency is to provide the framework and procedures for giving special protection, on behalf of the State, to persons in possession of important information and who are facing potential risk or intimidation due to their cooperation with prosecution and other law enforcement agencies.’’
At the weekend, the Witness Protection Advisory Board held a two-day retreat in Mombasa where they approved staff recruitment and procurement manuals for the agency which is now led by acting director Alice Ondiek.
The retreat was sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
“We held a two-day retreat in Mombasa where we did a lot of work for the agency that has now been fully delinked from the State Law Office. We will officially be launching it on August 12,” said the Justice minister.
Those who attended the retreat were Attorney General Amos Wako, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) chairperson Florence Jaoko and a representative of Police Commissioner Matthew Iteere.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment