Lawyer Levi Munyeri Writes To Director Of Public Prosecutions, Urging Him To Quit Over Incompetence
Lawyer Levi Munyeri
By William Muchiri
Worth Noting:
- “Performance of your Office took a regrettable twist late last year. A frenzy of systemic withdrawal of high-profile criminal cases descended on our Courts. The facts being well within your knowledge, it would be unnecessary for me to utter herein, the litany of criminal cases involving influential figures that you have withdrawn since the current government took over the reins of power. Predominant reason: insufficient evidence upon review of the file”.
- Lawyer Munyeri goes on, “Core to your statutory function is to subject criminal files to an inquiry of evidential weight before charges are pressed. Who authorized the leveling of charges in the criminal matters that you have now condemned as underwhelming in evidence? It is your office that marked the criminal matters as meritorious and sent them to Court, at a heavy financial cost to the taxpayer”.
A lawyer has called for the resignation of The Director of Public prodecution, Noordin Haji over his failure to lead the agency in a competent way.
Levi Munyeri want the Director to disqualify himself from presiding over procesuction of criminal matters in the country over his recent action that have seen scores of cases involving high ranking individuals dropped.
In a letter to Haji titled, “dwindling public confidence in the The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution and in our criminal justice system”, the Nairobi based lawyer states that he has written to him in his capacity as a criminal law litigator and a patriotic Kenyan.
The letter dated March 14 and copied to The President, Law Society of Kenya states in part, “Your assumption of office was informed by profound aspirations of reformation of our nation’s criminal justice system. For the better part of your tenure, you performed your constitutional duties with devotion and intent to inspire public confidence. First in our post-colonial history, the common man appreciated criminal prosecution as an impartial means to justice, no matter a person’s social status or political influence. Your tremendous efforts to reform a colonial structured penal system solicited admiration, both at home and abroad,”.
He continues, “Performance of your Office took a regrettable twist late last year. A frenzy of systemic withdrawal of high-profile criminal cases descended on our Courts. The facts being well within your knowledge, it would be unnecessary for me to utter herein, the litany of criminal cases involving influential figures that you have withdrawn since the current government took over the reins of power. Predominant reason: insufficient evidence upon review of the file”.
Lawyer Munyeri goes on, “Core to your statutory function is to subject criminal files to an inquiry of evidential weight before charges are pressed. Who authorized the leveling of charges in the criminal matters that you have now condemned as underwhelming in evidence? It is your office that marked the criminal matters as meritorious and sent them to Court, at a heavy financial cost to the taxpayer”.
Further, he avers, “Jurisprudence demands that justice should not only be done but seem to be done. Ours is a fragile criminal justice environment that is infested by class stratification, politics and corruption, amongst other impediments. We cannot afford to resurrect the ghosts of Moi Era, when the public knew of men who are above the law and perceived justice as a weapon of oppression. In this age of free media, your spree of withdrawal of charges against influential accused has echoed injustice in the minds of millions of Kenyans that were gradually gaining trust in our Courts. Thousands of petty criminal files, founded on feeble evidence, are pending before Courts. No review has been conducted on these files. The accused paupers struggle to defend their innocence until judgment is rendered. What criterion did you invoke to conclude that only files with influential accused were deserving of your review and consequent withdrawal? The timing of this unjust action speaks volumes. No communication was availed to the public of similar cases that you reviewed and found to bear overwhelming evidence. Logic demands that in the circumstances, you should have allowed the withdrawn cases to endure the test of a full trial before the public glare”.
He adds, “Less bothered would I be, were your action a mere erosion of public confidence in Mr. Haji as a person. Your conduct is vanquishing public trust in a constitutional office that enjoys perpetuity. An office that is at the core of societal order is suffering irredeemable infamy due to your unjustifiable resolve, damage that may take decades to reverse. It is immaterial whether the unfolding injury to the Office of the DPP is real, perception only is adequate to trigger your conscience into deep reflection”.
He concludes, “anchored on the foregoing, Mr. Haji: if you still possess a semblance of patriotism and professionalism, timely vacate the Office of the DPP by way of resignation. This may relieve this crucial office of public damnation and erosion of trust. On this, I speak for the Constitution”.
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