Economy

Tobiko launches search to replace police prosecutors

tobiko

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko. Photo/FILE

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko is set to hire 331 professional prosecutors in a bid to enhance capacity to handle complex cases such as corruption and economic crimes.

Mr Tobiko said on Wednesday the recruitment would be carried out under a Sh300 million scheme aimed at addressing the shortage of specialised officers across the country.

“Currently, more than 90 per cent of our prosecutors are police officers who lack the professionalism and expertise to tackle cases comprehensively,” Mr Tobiko said in an interview.

“We plan to have our own to do the job.”

The office plans to hire 15 senior assistant DPPs, 11 assistant DDPs, 15 senior principal prosecution counsel, 20 senior prosecution counsel and 229 prosecution counsel.

In addition to posting prosecution counsel to lower courts, the DPP said more offices would be opened across the 47 counties.

The directorate has opened new regional offices in Kerugoya, Murang’a, Homa Bay, Voi, Kajiado, Turkana, Nyahururu, Bomet, Wajir, Marsabit, Thika and Narok to cope with the caseload.

“There is a serious shortage of professional prosecutors and we want to have qualified lawyers handle prosecution tasks even in the lower courts,” Mr Tobiko said.

In an annual update released recently the directorate said it would take over all corruption and economic crime cases at the lower courts.

Mr Tobiko said that police prosecutors lack adequate training to perform the role.

“DPP aims to take over 100 per cent prosecutions of corruption and economic crimes,” he said in an annual update.

Economic crimes have become a major concern. A recent study by consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed that tendering fraud has overtaken bribery and corruption to become Kenya’s fastest growing economic crime.

READ: Tender fraud passes bribery on Kenya’s economic crimes list

The report published last month said one in every three Kenyan business leaders reported procurement-related fraud in the past two years. Four out of every 10 Kenyan CEOs or 36 per cent said they had been asked for bribes to win a tender or get business, PwC said.

The PwC report, however, shows that asset misappropriation remains the most common economic crime in Kenya, having affected 77 per cent of businesses.

Accounting fraud affected 38 per cent of firms, procurement fraud (31 per cent), bribery and corruption (27 per cent) and cybercrime hit 22 per cent of firm. Budgetary allocation to the DPP was more than doubled to Sh2.2 billion in the current financial year from 972 million.