Ruto reiterates support for criminal justice sector reforms
President William Ruto has reiterated his support for the reformation of the criminal justice sector to rid it of bias.
Ruto made the pledge in his speech on Monday at the 16th Annual General Meeting and Conference of Africa Prosecutors’ Association.
“I commit to support the criminal justice sector so that it is not weaponized politically, but serve justice to the people of Kenya,” he said.
Time and again since taking office, President Ruto has voiced his determination to steer Kenya’s criminal justice sector away from unwarranted bias, brutality, and illegalities.
The president has put in place a police reforms taskforce to look into improving the working conditions of the National Police Service. Poor working conditions were blamed in part for the prevalence of police crimes, which in some cases led to deaths.
Aside from the taskforce, Ruto issued the National Police Service with financial independence in efforts to enable it to run its own affairs with accountability.
His pledge to support the criminal justice system now adds impetus onto his administration’s sustained talk of reforms.
In his speech, Ruto also urged the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to leverage on technology to ensure efficiency in its duties.
“I encourage the ODPP to continually deploy technological approaches to fight crime. Political goodwill is critical in supporting the criminal justice sector,” President Ruto said.
Missing Voices takes note of the president’s latest pledge and wants to urge all the relevant agencies to heed his call.
Reforming the criminal justice system would help achieve a desired country where the various security apparatus fights crime with full compliance to the laid out laws.
For years, Kenya has struggled to bring an end to police brutality, police killings, and extrajudicial killings. Missing Voices urges all players within Kenya’s criminal justice system to remain conversant with the laid out laws in the Constitution, abide by them, and above all respect the fundamental human rights.
