HANDING-OVER CEREMONY OF THE SGBV PROSECUTORS TRAINERS MANUAL

WELCOME REMARKS

BY

MR. KERIAKO TOBIKO, CBS, SC; DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, KENYA.

Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. On my own behalf and on behalf of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions I am pleased to preside over the hand-over ceremony of the SGBV Prosecutors Trainers Manual. 2. The development of the manual was necessitated by the need to improve the knowledge, skills and competencies of prosecutors in handling Sexual and Gender-Based Violence cases in the Republic. 3. The process of developing the manual began in March, 2011 when the consultants, Ms. Violet Mavisi and Ms. Dianne Post were hired with the generous support of the UNODC and GIZ. This was back when the Office was only a department within the State Law Office. 4. The Directorates role in the process at the time was to offer logistical and technical support and office space to enable the consultants to discharge their duties. 5. The consultants developed a zero draft of the manual and the same was subjected to review in a successful workshop held on 16th - 20th May, 2011. This workshop was attended by prosecutors and investigators from across the Country. 6. The workshop also served as a train-the-trainer workshop for would be users of the manual. 7. Further, a one-day validation workshop was held on the 26th August, 2011 at KICC, which was attended by 40 participants, who validated the contents of the manual. The participants included representatives of : the ODPP, the National Police Service (Gender-Desk and CID training School), Judiciary, the Taskforce on Sexual Offences Act, the Government Chemist, the Kenyatta National Hospital, the Kenya Institute of Education, 2

the Kenya School of Law, the Law Society of Kenya, various national NGOS, GIZ, and a number of UN Agencies.

8. The final version of the manual was eventually submitted to me for consideration and publication. 9. I take this opportunity to thank you most sincerely, our partners: UNODC and GIZ for your tremendous support in the development of this manual and the general capacity building of the ODPPs SGBV Division. 10. I also commend the consultants, our officers and stakeholders for their input and tireless efforts in the development of this manual. 11. This manual will go a long way in empowering SGBV trainers to equip prosecutors on handling matters relating to SGBV from the pre-trial to post-trial phases and take proactive steps in ensuring provision of the best care to victims of SGBV crimes. 12. I have no doubt that future prosecution trainings on SGBV will employ and benefit from the content of the manual. 13. I look forward to an expeditious dissemination and use of the manual, in seminars and through internal trainings of prosecutors across the country. Continued technical and logistical support towards this goal from our partners will be highly welcome. 14. The scourge of SGBV cases has reached endemic proportions in Kenya and the ODPP is committed to bring to justice, the perpetrators of sexual and genderbased violence. 15. We have robustly applied the Sexual Offences Act, since it came into operation and to underscore how serious we take the prosecution of SGBV cases, we have established a dedicated Division within the ODPP to handle SGBV cases both at the Head Quarters and in the County Offices.

16. Moreover, with the support of GIZ we have developed prosecution guidelines on SGBV cases which are part of the growing prosecutorial policy framework for the ODPP. 17. Despite these positive developments, there still remain numerous challenges in the prosecution of SGBV cases; Key among them is poorly investigated cases due to inadequate capacity within the investigative agencies. 18. The ubiquitous challenge of lack of timely reporting and preservation of evidence by complaints and the lack of a DNA database for sexual offenders as required under the Sexual Offences Act also impact on the effective prosecution of SGBV cases. 19. We also face limited resources in prosecuting these crimes, alongside protracted trials, the impact of social stigma on victims/witnesses of SGBV crimes, witness interference, inadequate witness protection facilities and the ever-problematic challenge of prosecuting minors alleged to have defiled fellow minors. 20. To redress these challenges effectively, the ODPP requires your support in capacity building and support towards greater inter-agency linkages and collaboration. 21. Such support should also be geared towards improving investigative capacity and infrastructural and systems needs for various agencies, including the setting up of the DNA databank. 22. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me once again to express our sincere gratitude to our partners and the consultants for their support and for this great milestone. 23. With this few remarks, I Thank you.