A suitable remedy for pre-trial detention: to acquit or to compensate?

Abstract

This study centres on a challenge that besets the Kenyan criminal system; excessive arbitrary detentions without trial. An arrested person has the right to prompt production in a court of law within a period of twenty-four hours. However it would seem that this right is merely an appendage to the constitution, seeing as such persons are increasingly held in custody without trial for periods beyond the constitutional limit. This study traverses judicial jurisprudence in the context of the repealed constitution and 2010 constitution. In doing so, it highlights the courts’ contribution in mitigating the practice as it looks into the remedies that have been granted and other possible alternatives.