Convicts who are pardoned through the presidential mercy will now be allowed to get a police clearance certificate if a new draft Bill is approved.
The Power of Mercy Amendment Bill 2022, is in the final validation process before it is forwarded to the cabinet for approval.
However, if the Bill passes, all convicts who qualify to be pardoned will have a chance to apply and get a police clearance certificate famously known as certificate of good conduct.
The Power of Mercy is tied up in Article 133 of the 2010 Constitution where the president, in the petition of any person, may by the advice of the Power of Mercy Advisory Committee pardon convicted offenders.
The Power of Mercy Advisory Committee comprises the Attorney General, Cabinet Secretaries responsible for the correctional services and at least five other members as prescribed by an Act of Parliament, none of them who may not be a state officer or in public service.
The Bill still gives the President full powers to free any convicted offender, postpone punishment or substitute with a lesser punishment but with the advisory of the committee.
According to a stakeholders validation meeting in Garissa, the committee secretary Stephen Gitau stated that convicts who have reformed and qualified for the presidential pardon should enjoy being expunged from their criminal records so that they can get employment.
“If it is a free pardon, the criminal records may be expunged while if it is a conditional pardon then the records can be sealed such that if the person can get clearance certificate just like anybody else and they can secure gainful employment,” Gitau said.
Additionally, the Committee may take into account the views of the victims of the offence in respect of which it is considering making recommendations to the Head of State.
However, according to the draft Bill, all records of the convict's remand, custodial sentence, and judicial trial proceedings can be expunged from the police record of complaint, investigation, detention, arrest and conviction
The draft Bill also proposes the creation of a national parole board, and mental health board to help solve increasing mental cases among convicts.
The new draft Bill is expected to benefit vulnerable offenders such as pregnant women, women with children, the sick and the elderly.
However, the proposed law will only allow convicts who have served a third of their sentences or 5 years for those serving life imprisonment. Those who have cases in court, probation sentences and have not finished their judicial processes will not be considered.
The certificate of good conduct is a crucial document, especially when seeking employment. If adopted, the law would go a long way in making it easier for pardoned convicts to be integrated back into society.
