Pomac Undertakes Public Participation

By John Kariuki

The Power of Mercy Advisory Committee is on the process of conducting public participation in twenty four counties as it seeks Wanjiku’s voice in respect of amending the piece of legislation that it operates under.

The initiative is aimed at coming up with a power of mercy policy since at the moment it operates under An Act of Parliament.

This, according to Pomac Chief Executive Officer Dr. Lydia Muriuki is in line with the Constitution of Kenya 2010 that states:

“It is one of the national principles and values of governance, and one of the key objectives of devolution “…to give powers of self-governance to the people and enhance their participation in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them” (Article 174c, Constitution of Kenya).

All citizens in Kenya have the right to participate and it is their civic obligation to engage in all county governance processes.”

In an exclusive interview with The Times, Dr. Lydia highlighted the six thematic areas under which the public is free to air their views.

What is the effect of pardon and what is its ramifications? Can someone get a police clearance certificate after pardon
What are the safeguards or the framework for releasing the pardon person
Transparency and openness of the entire process which is now fully digitised and integrated with relevant data bases
Re-integration, empowerment, resettlement and rehabilitation of the pardoned person. How do we get the pardoned person back to his feet?
What’s the framework for Kenyans prisoners held in foreign countries
What about the vulnerable categories the aged, pregnant Women and Even the youth. These people can benefit from humanitarian parole

Dr. Lydia concluded by saying that the entire public participation process is scheduled to take place in eight weeks.