“This book seeks to address the frictions between protecting the rights of accused
persons and protecting the physical and psychological wellbeing of witnesses in
Africa.Developed states are still attempting to refine the weighing of these two public goods. The African challenge is complicated by poor capacity and integrity in the justice sector, as well as by lower living standards. These issues commonly cause justice inefficiencies which impede both witness protection and the rights of the accused. While the latter are critical to the integrity of the criminal justice
process, witness protection is often the essential component of the successful
prosecution of organised crime. Witness protection’s importance is tied to African
states’ growing willingness to address the phenomena of organised crime. The book addresses witness protection in South Africa as well as initiatives to create protection programmes in Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone. It also examines witness protection at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for
Sierra Leone (SCSL). Its interpretation of witness protection is wide and includes
sensitive investigatory, prosecutorial and judicial practices as well as relocation
and identity change.”
