The justice sector afterthought: Witness protection in Africa, Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies, 2010. (original) (raw)
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WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAMMES – SOME LESSONS FROM THE SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
The various Witness Protection Programmes in South Africa (for more detail on the background to South African Witness Protection Programmes see Spek 1998) have essentially not inspired enough confidence in witnesses to make use of them. Relatively speaking, witness protection is still in its infancy in South Africa though considerable progress has been made since the first attempts in the late 1980s and early 1990s to set up better and more effective programmes.
Challenges Facing Criminal Justice System in Relation to Witness Protection in Kenya
2015
Criminal activities that have a profound impact on human security and development, such as corruption, drug trafficking, serious and organized crime, human rights violations and terrorism. Consequently, the ability the criminal justice systems to investigate and prosecute such forms of serious crimes are often very limited. One of the challenges for many is in obtaining the cooperation of victims and witnesses and witness protection in order to obtain important information and evidence about such criminal matters. This paper examines the critical challenges facing the criminal justice system, particularly socio-cultural and legal challenges in relation to witness protection in Kenya. It further examines witness Assistance and Support, Witness Security and analysis of existing legal framework. The study recommends the development of appropriate measures including training of police on procedural protection measures, strengthening legislative framework to enhance witness assistance, support and security and guaranteeing of human rights, increasing of financial support to the witness protection programme and establishment of community of witness protection authorities as a close group and provision of expertise and other support.
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In South Africa the criminal justice system is primarily controlled by the Criminal Procedure Act1 and its application in the criminal process. The introduction of a justiciable Bill of Rights2 on 27 April 19943 ushered South Africa into a new legal and constitutional dispensation, which in tum affected the criminal justice system profoundly. In fact the criminal process has undergone an intense metamorphosis as a result of the introduction of the Bill of Rights. Witnesses and victims of crime have not escaped the impact of the Constitution on the criminal justice system. Their rightful place in the criminal justice process is the subject of this thesis
African Human Rights Law Journal, 2020
It is widely acknowledged that crime victims and witnesses for a long time have not been treated fairly in most criminal justice systems. In a bid to remedy this situation, particularly with respect to vulnerable witnesses, most common law jurisdictions have introduced innovative procedural and evidential law changes, which include screening the witness from the defendant's sight; prohibiting the defendant from personally cross-examining the witness; and restrictions on improper cross-examination, including evidence relating to sexual history. Virtually all these measures have underpinning resource requirements. Presently Malawi does not afford adequate protection to vulnerable witnesses. The article argues that the protection of vulnerable witnesses during trial in a resource-poor nation such as Malawi lies in the hands of judges. While on the face of it Malawi's lack of resources may appear to be an obstacle to the protection of vulnerable witnesses, the system has a wealt...
International Criminal Justice in Africa (2016)
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Witness protection is a fundamental concern worldwide, this is at all levels, domestically and internationally. It is a challenging question when it comes to matters relating to protection of potential witnesses in criminal cases, particularly where the cases involve serious crimes, such as terrorism, murder, organized crimes, and ones which involved several individuals who are working under syndicate, whose arrest sometimes cannot be caused once. It is reported frequently about harassment, missing, intimidation and/or even murder of potential witnesses in criminal cases, as soon as they are made publicly by the prosecution in court as the intended witnesses. Perhaps, this is done by the accused person's syndicates who in one way or another attempt to distort evidence. There has been an attempt to ensure that witnesses are afforded full protection against possibility of whatsoever threat, injure or even murder of intended witnesses and/or their families. The parliament of United Republic of Tanzania enacted section 188(1), (a), (b), (c), (d) and (2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, [CAP20 R.E 2022], which empowers the Director Public Prosecutions to make an ex-parte application for court order not to disclose any documentary evidence which might lead to identification of names and whereabouts of the intended witnesses in criminal cases, including an order for conducting the trial in camera and by way of video conference. However, the interpretation to that provision by the High court judges somewhat has raised a disparity in administration of Criminal justice in our jurisdiction.