ARTICLE 50 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF KENYA, A DREAM OR A FALLACY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE WITNESS PROTECTION ACT IN KENYA

Abstract

The initial excitement generated by the enactment of the Witness Protection Act in 2006 and the inclusion of Article 50 in the 2010 Constitution; marked a new era for clear framework for protection of witnesses. Alas in the backdrop of various scandals plaguing the Kenyan government, one question comes to mind. Whether witnesses with evidence against government officials are adequately protected? This remains a difficult question to answer. Certain provisions of the Witness Protection Act (WPA) and other ratified treaties do not envision a scenario where both organs are on opposing ends. For instance, section 3P of the Act mention the composition of the Witness Protection Advisory Board comprising of several government officials. Thus to remove influence of the government, the composition of the board would need to be reconstituted to remove state agents from it. Therefore, the research investigates how such provisions strengthen the influence of the government over the programme. It also provides recommendations on how to reduce it by adopting relevant models from the United States and South Africa. The research methodology consists of a doctrinal and the comparative research analysis. The doctrinal method analyses certain sections of the W.P.A that demonstrates influence wielded by the Kenyan government. Whilst the comparative method, examines the benefits of adopting the South African and American witness protection programme. Overall to enhance protection of witnesses, certain provisions of the W.P.A need to be amended to create an independent witness programme. This shall ultimately allow a credible non biased programme to exist in Kenya