Close of the Validation Exercise

The Taskforce on Review of the Laws Relating to the exercise of the Power of Mercy Under Article 133 of the Constitution has completed the validation exercise of draft Power of Mercy Policy Framework & draft Power of Mercy bill, 2022. The activity ran between 4th July, 2022 and 30th September, 2022 in 26 counties across the country.

The taskforce was constituted by the Hon. Attorney General on 25^th September, 2020 through Gazette Notice No. 7382 and No. 10186 of 30^th November 2020 to address the jurisdictional, contradictions and gaps occasioned by various mandates exercised in different government departments and agencies who’s their respective governing Acts have not been reviewed to align with provisions of Article 133 of the Constitution of Kenya.

Stakeholders present in all county fora were in agreement with the documents presented to them acknowledging that the views they had given a year earlier during the Public hearings were thoroughly captured. Members of the general public and interested organisations were welcome to submit their written memoranda and forward them to the taskforce secretariat during the period of the exercise, to ensure that majority of Kenyans got the opportunity to participate and give their proposals.

The legal team in the taskforce will now proceed to incorporate the additional submissions to harmonize the two (2) documents; draft Power of Mercy Power of Mercy bill, 2022 and draft Power of Mercy Policy Framework before their onward submission to the National Assembly and Cabinet respectively.

The Taskforce was chaired by the Principal Administrative Secretary & Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet and has drawn its membership from the Executive Office of the President, Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice, Prisons Service, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, National Police Service, Probation and Aftercare Service, Victim Protection Agency, Ministry of Health, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Kenya Law Reform Commission, National Crime  Research Center, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Community Service Orders Committee.

SCHEDULE OF STAKEHOLDERS VALIDATION EXERCISE