Determinants of delivery of justice in sexual offence cases prosecuted in Naivasha law courts in Nakuru county

Abstract

The criminal justice system in Kenya has continually faced compounded challenges in addressing the plight of victims and survivors of sexual offences. There are relatively few convictions as compared to the number of cases reported. Evidence from the relevant genderbased violence care institutions; the police, Nairobi Women’s Hospital and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP’s) office indicate thatthe prosecution of sexual offences in Kenya is constrained in several ways. This is evident from the low prosecutions and convictions achieved as compared to the high incidence of sexual crimes in the country. The challenges are also evident in the low rates of apprehensions following incidents and the high rate of withdrawal of cases brought to courts before the verdicts are made. The purpose of this study was to assessdeterminants of delivery of justice in Sexual Offence cases prosecuted in Naivasha law courts. The study sought to fulfill three specific objectives which included analyzing the factors that support the delivery of justice in the prosecution of sexual offences cases in Naivasha law courts in Nakuru, assessing factors that constrain the delivery of justice in the prosecution of sexual offences cases in Naivasha law courts in Nakuru, and assessing the adequacy of systems and procedures for prosecution of sexual offence cases in Naivasha law court within Nakuru County. The study design employed was a combination of case study and secondary document analysis and targeted population of 14 people and the sample size was 30% of targeted population. The findings were analyzed and interpreted qualitatively. The findings of the study are that delivery of justice was supported by quality investigations, the legal system, good coordination by witnesses, investigating officers and prosecutors while the delivery of justice was constrained by witness failure to testify in court, delayed investigation and trials of the cases. The conclusions of the study was justice was not properly delivered to the parties involved in sexual offences tried in courts.Justice system should be client friendly and sensitive, and introduce gender focal points in all police stations manned by specialized officers. The gender mainstreaming within the police department should be taken seriously, so that more women get appointed as prosecutors and proper one-stop centers should also be introduced in all police stations or in select stations to ensure efficient delivery of justice in sexual offence cases. The government should work hand in hand with the locals to arrange meetings in which individuals are sensitized about sexual offences and how to handle such cases. Lastly the government needed to increase funding to the three institution involved in criminal justice that is police, judiciary and prison department to be able to train more investigators and prosecutors , establish forensic labs and increase personnel in judiciary so that cases can be speedily heard.