If independent institutions are fully resourced, empowered and allowed to do their job, the country would be at a different place in terms of the rule of law and growth, UN resident coordinator Stephen Jackson has said.
In an exclusive interview with the Star, the Irish diplomat singled out the Independent Police Oversight Authority as among agencies doing the best to hold officials accountable.
However, he said consistent underfunding and flagrant refusal to cooperate by the National Police Service have undermined its work.
“Ipoa leadership tells me all the time that they are not receiving the cooperation they need from the National Police Service as they seek to hold them accountable,” he added.
He noted the same trend with the Judiciary, saying the professionalism and firmness of the courts should be celebrated by increasing funding.
Since his arrival in Nairobi from Libreville in Gabon where he was serving in the same capacity, Jackson said his interaction with the key organisations gives him hope the country is in the right trajectory and can achieve its potential.
The diplomat said he had high hopes when President William Ruto announced immediately after his election that he would release the funds for Judiciary.
He is disappointed the promise was not kept. Jackson’s job is to coordinate activities of the UN country team in its engagement with the government as defined by the UN Development Assistance Framework.
Ruto promised to activate the Judiciary fund to address the problem of underfunding, which had undermined its capacity to hire more judges and officers to fast track clearing case backlogs, put up more infrastructure and roll out the IT function in the justice system.
“We need to treat investment in justice the same way we treat health, education and security sectors since access to justice is a fundamental right that touches every aspect of our life,” Chief Justice Martha Koome said earlier this month.
“We cannot talk of case backlogs when we face budget constraints. We can only do well if we invest in systems and infrastructure that make justice delivery possible.”
Jackson said while his organisation offers technical and financial support to some of the agencies to build their capacity to deliver on their mandates, it would be helpful if they were accorded support to work independently.
Asked about the perceived aloofness of the UN system when Kenyans have been grappling with police brutality, he said the UN’s top leadership have always issued statements when necessary.
He also insists that UN prefers Kenya’s institutions to deal with the issues that emerge, including Ipoa taking action, on alleged police excesses.
On the recent call by a section of civil societies for the UN to intervene in probing the protest deaths, the diplomat said it’s not possible because Kenya is a sovereign country with stable institutions that can do that job.
He added that the UN cannot just order investigations, unless mandated by the UN Security Council.
“We do believe that there needs to be adequate investigation, there needs to be accountability and there needs to be justice. We are with the Kenyan institutions on that.”
Jackson said the 2022 presidential election was the most peaceful and credible, but quickly put the caveat that he has no opinion on the results.
“I don’t know if your readers would agree, but I think that we can think of the 2022 elections as a high watermark for human rights, in the narrow sense. I don’t mean the result. I mean the conduct of those elections,” he added.
On the state of access to sexual and reproductive rights and gender-based violence, Jackson said it was regrettable that femicide rates were rising in the country and that his agency was working with various players to address the issue.
On corruption in the public sector, the UN diplomat says the agency is concerned that graft is slowing down Kenya’s growth rate by up to five per cent per annum.
However, it is not corruption impoverishing Kenyans, he said, but
also the effects of climate change.
