The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is partnering with the International Legal Foundation on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as part of ongoing efforts to decongest prisons.
Speaking during a delegation meeting, Senior Assistant Director Public Prosecutions, Alexander Muteti said the project will be piloted at the Makadara Law Courts for a period of one year.
“Our office has been conducting a similar program known as “all for Justice Initiative” which is armed to decongest the prisons with the last phase taking place in 2023,” said Muteti.
The partnership will provide training and capacity building for prosecutors at the Prosecution Training institute.
“The ILF will partner with Justice Initiatives Global (JIGlobal), a locally registered non-governmental organization, to implement the project,”said ILF Executive Director, Jennifer Smith.
The alternative mechanisms under consideration include diversion and plea bargaining and the provision of pro-bono advocates in 60 new misdemeanor cases monthly that involve both adults and juveniles.
The project dubbed ‘The Impact of early access to quality legal aid on reducing unnecessary and prolonged pre-trial detention” aims to enhance efficiency by reducing backlog.
Statistics indicate that 134 prison facilities in Kenya are currently holding over 60,000 persons yet they have a capacity of 30,000 people with Pretrial detainees being 35,000 which is 51 person of the entire prison population.
Sally Namuye
