The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji launched a publication geared towards enhancing good practice in preventing and countering violent extremism in the country.
Haji said the publication would also serve as a roadmap in the fight against terrorism in the country and a point of reference criminal justice agencies in the region.
“These Good Practices are a reference point for the best practices in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism,” he added during the launch at English Marina Hotel, Mombasa.
Noordin said the document that advocates for a human rights based approach to preventing and countering violent extremism was piloted between February and March this year in Mombasa and Kilifi counties.
The ODPP and Haki Africa human rights organization monitored and evaluated the activities of the project whose impact included accessibility of justice and reduction of vulnerability of individuals at risk of the crime.
The publication titled Good Practices for Enhancing Access to Criminal Access to Justice in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism is also set to provide remedy on exploitation of technology and digital spaces by organized criminal syndicates and terrorist organizations.
Haji said the document is some of the gains made in the adoption of “Whole-of-society approach” cooperation between his office and civil society organization.
The DPP further stated that the document would cajole agencies to work in harmony with non-State actors including civil societies to provide local solutions into challenges posed by perpetrators of Terrorism and Counter Violence Extremism (CVE).
He noted that the new publication would address existent bottlenecks that have made access to justice appear elusive to Kenyans particularly those residing in Coast and Northern Eastern Counties.
“As critical actors in the criminal justice sector, we have a moral and professional obligation to develop and implement multi-faceted approaches in Preventing Terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism,” he added.
The DPP noted that the publication is a fruit of concerted efforts and partnership between the criminal justice sector and the civil society in preventing terrorism and countering violent extremism in the country.
“These partnerships have contributed towards a holistic approach to effectively bridge the gap between the citizens and the law enforcement thereby building trust and confidence in the fight against terrorism,” said Haji.
Haji challenged agencies in the criminal justice sector to be sensitive to the needs of the citizenry by adopting a human- rights-centric approach to combat terrorism and countering violent extremism within the rule of law.
The DPP further called on the players in the Criminal Justice Sector to work closely and address corruption and other systemic insufficiencies that contribute to terrorism and counter violent extremism.
“The use of unregulated and concealed financing mechanisms, such as crypto currencies, which makes tracing of terror financing activities harder due to the anonymity that these platforms provide; and instances of witness and victim intimidation that often pervades the investigation and prosecution of these offences,” he added.
He further called for strengthening of inter and intra-agency collaboration and cooperation in the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of the crime and tackling terrorism.
“It is important that we prioritize information sharing and multi stakeholder investigations to ensure concerted efforts in the gathering and analysis of information collected by the multiple agencies,” he noted.
He thanked the British High Commission for their invaluable support towards the development of the publication whose production involved ODPP, Haki Africa, the Judiciary, and The Attorney General office, National Police Service (NPS), Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) and Kenya Prison Service.
By Hussein Abdullahi and Andrew Hinga
