Activists under the Katiba Institute are seeking the release or review of cases of 10,000 individuals who they claim were convicted under non-existent laws.
The Katiba Institute filed a petition on Tuesday, January 30, challenging the court's reference to robbery with violence and attempted robbery with violence to convict the prisoners.
It argued that the court had continued to use the laws criminalising robbery with violence and attempted robbery with violence which were declared unconstitutional by the High Court in March 2018.
“We did so because the laws upon which numerous convictions were based were declared unconstitutional by the High Court over five years ago," Katiba Institute stated, adding that the binding decision was yet to be enforced.
According to the activists, the Office of the Attorney General was given an 18-month window to amend the Constitution in collaboration with Parliament and other state organs. However, a review of the laws was still pending five years later.
Katiba Insitute further faulted the State for wasting the witnesses' time and efforts by presenting them in cases that it argued were unconstitutional.
“Victims who cooperated with the State in securing these convictions must now come to terms with the realisation that their efforts were in vain, contributing unwittingly to a constitutional violation,” read the statement in part.
However, the nonprofit organisation also defended its new move, arguing that it was not aiding criminals but fighting for the rights of all Kenyans.
It emphasised that every individual deserves to have their rights safeguarded by the Constitution regardless of their alleged offences.
Notably, the Institute urged Kenyans to view the petition as a way of holding the State accountable for failing to implement justice reforms as obligated by the court.
Katiba Insitute argued that some convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment ought to have their cases reviewed.
One of the standout cases was the sentencing of two suspects charged with robbery with violence. The duo, who wase accused of mugging a man at gunpoint in Nairobi’s Kilimani area, were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Nairobi court.
