A Malayan proverb says: ‘The existence of the sea means the existence of pirates’. Nevertheless efforts are made in East Africa and by the international community to deal with piracy off the Somali coast.
By Claire Wachira
But will they have an impact? The call for "a specialized tribunal to tackle this problem" is becoming louder.
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Hard Facts: • Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping since the beginning of the Somali Civil War in the early 21 century. • Most pirates are aged 20–35 years old and come from the region of Puntland, in northeastern Somalia • Modern pirates have heavy-duty firepower, including automatic weapons, mortars, and rocket-propelled grenades. • Areas most frequented by pirates include the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the waters of Indonesia and Singapore. • The estimated annual loss due to piracy worldwide is about $13 to $16 billion. • Ransoms average around $120,000 |
Between February 2006 and December 2009 a total of 132 suspected pirates of Somali origin have been handed over to Kenyan authorities.
10 are currently serving a seven-year jail term in Kenyan prisons, while 122 are under going trial at the Mombasa law courts.
Legal Hurdles
The international community so far seems satisfied with Kenya's approach. But is this so for Kenya? East Africa Seafarers Assistance Programme coordinator Mr Andrew Mwangura says the Kenya justice system is already overburdened.
“The backlog of cases stands at 875,000. The prison facilities are overstretched with a population of 53,000 against a national capacity of 16,000 contrary to international standards. Apart from that there are many legal hurdles as well”.
Mwangura suggests that the only way trials can be sped up and crucial mistakes avoided is a need to form a specialised tribunal within the region which has special facilities to address trial issues.
“In Kenyan courts the trial magistrate records the proceedings manually and the Prosecutor has his pace to match the speed of each magistrate. Without the assistance of translators and stenographers, there is no other way of counter-checking the way the record is taken to ensure that all the material aspects of the case have been recorded. This could occasion miscarriage of justice.”
Mr. Francis Kadima a lawyer based in the coastal town of Mombasa argues: "the Kenyan government has remained mute on the benefits accruing from these high risk trials."
He adds: "Kenya has a weak legal system in regard to piracy and the government has not put in place an adequate legal framework to deal with the problem. Besides, the country’s Judiciary does not have enough experience to expeditiously deal with the issues of piracy."
Way forward
The trial of pirates in Kenya urgently needs additional support from the international community for it to meet the international standards.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Commission (EC) donated about US$ 2.4 million. But estimates suggest more than double is needed.
“This support is to the trial and related treatment of piracy suspects, such as legislative review, prosecution support, logistics and IT, police and maritime authority training. Additionally, however and very fundamentally, it is important that the root cause of piracy be addressed,” notes Andrew Mwangura.
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