Witnesses in High-profile Kenyan Cases to be Flown Abroad in Witness Protection Program

Kenyan government has announced plans of taking abroad witnesses in high-profile cases as part of protecting them.

Kenya's Witness Protection Agency (WPA) said the move is aimed at ensuring that victims whose lives are at risk remain safe.

The agency's Public Relations Officer Calvin Oredi said witnesses will be flown to foreign countries with similar laws as Kenya’s on a reciprocal basis.

 “We do not have any witness protected outside the country but are working on bilateral agreements based on the amendments that were made on the Witness Protection Act," said Oredi.

The official said Kenya will under the agreement admit witnesses from the partner country in the witness protection programme under the Kenyan law.

He disclosed that WPA has received 1,123 applications since its establishment in 2008, out of which close to 500 applicants were admitted to the witness protection programme along with 1,373 defendants.

Oredi said 309 of the admitted witnesses have since successfully testified in courts and are already out of the programme after their risk factors were assessed.