DPP to recruit 69 state attorneys

By Umaru Kashaka and Edward Anyoli   

THE Director of Public Prosecutions, Mike Chibita, has said they are going to recruit sixty nine state attorneys within this financial year to address the current staffing shortages in the field.

He noted that the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) is over-stretched by the number of new cases received compared to the human and financial resources, which impacts on their effectiveness.

“Most of our stations have less staff to handle prosecutions than there are judicial officers to try the cases,” he told New Vision.

According to the recently launched DPP’s Client Charter and the third strategic investment plan to guide the directorate’s operations over the next five years, the new cases handled by the DPP have steadily increased.

In 2009, the directorate received 68,547 new cases while in 2010, it received 92,016 cases. In 2011 and 2012, the new cases received were 103,462 and 133,837 respectively.

“Because of human resource constraints, we have had cases where a prosecutor handles more than 40 defended cases in a one-month session,” the deputy DPP Amos Ngolobe said recently.

Chibita also said together with the ministry of public service, the public service commission and the ministry of finance, it has been possible to conduct promotional interviews for staff, resulting into the elevation of several officers to higher ranks within the institution.

“There have been massive staff promotions within this year. 10 staff promoted to the rank of Senior Principal State Attorney, 14 promoted to the rank of Principal State Attorney and 51 promoted to the rank of Senior State Attorney,” he said.

These promotions have motivated staff and created room for further growth for the institution, he stressed.

The Constitution mandates the DPP to prosecute criminal cases except in the court martial and to direct the police to investigate information of criminal nature.

However, the DPP has always come under fire over cases in which suspected criminals go scot-free on account of delayed prosecution and lack of evidence.