The absence of laws on when to terminate cases in court is partly to blame for the current backlog of cases in court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Renson Ingonga, says Kenya needs a law that could set a limit on how much time should be taken to hear cases in order to expedite justice to the public and avoid an unnecessary backlog of court cases.
He says most cases, especially those involving high-profile persons often took long and at times collapsed in court due to multiple applications by the accused meant to frustrate the work of prosecutors handling such matters. "The reason we have a backlog of cases in court is because once suspects realise we have a solid case against them, they will ensure they frustrate the progress and completion of the case.
This is because if a case drags in court for a long time, witnesses will either grow weary, while others may die, leading to their eventual collapse.
