Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji is on the cusp of making history with a revolutionary training institute targeting Kenyan youth.
Details of the campus dubbed Prosecution Training Institute (PTI) were unveiled in a report that the DPP presented to President Uhuru Kenyatta in a special meeting at State House on Monday evening, November 9.
A highly placed source from the ODPP confided to Kenyans.co.ke that the institution, which is first of its kind in Eastern Africa, will have its main campus in Loresho, Nairobi.
The parcel of land on which the institute will be hosted was donated by Loresho Police Training college and the construction is expected to be carried out in three phases.
"We are still working on (finer details). We will get a portion of the funds from the Government of Qatar.
"Its construction will begin sometime next year. It will be in three phases but the main will be phase one," the source told this writer.
The Annual Report presented to the Head of State showed that the PTI will be operationalised as a department with staff and trained facilitators in thematic areas.
The campus will have enough space to establish adequate facilities that will aid in offering quality training programs.
It will specialise in matters that are unique to prosecution service and capacity building in the criminal justice sector.
"The Institute has a unique opportunity to improve the quality of prosecutions and service delivery through the provision of world-class continuous training to prosecutors and other officers in the criminal justice system.
"It is envisioned that PTI will be a hub for initiating, planning and executing competitive prosecutorial and related capacity building programmes," read the report in part.
During the ceremony, it was also revealed that the ODPP made a number of breakthroughs including an increase in the conviction rates from 90.2 percent in 2017/2018 to 92.5 percent in 2019/2020, for general cases.
The office achieved that feat by prioritising the fight against corruption through the adoption of strategies such as a strategic focus on high profile and high impact cases, the establishment of specialized thematic divisions, units and teams and recovery of proceeds of crime.
In his speech at the event, Uhuru applauded the public prosecutor for employing young Kenyans saying the decision to enlist young legal minds for prosecutorial jobs would help instill patriotism and cultivate a strong public service culture.
“You have also been busy training young counsels, instilling in them a culture of integrity, a culture of patriotism, a culture of service and not serving yourself.
“This is because jobs like these are not taken because of the paycheque. They are taken because of a high commitment to serving the nation. It is not about the paycheque at the end of the day. It is about one’s commitment to serving his country and its people,” the President stated.
