The justice sector afterthought: Witness protection in Africa
Protection of African witnesses has yet to receive serious academic examination. The justice sector afterthought: Witness protection in Africa constitutes a first attempt to address this gap in the literature.
The book examines a critical component of both international and domestic criminal justice processes. Where international criminal tribunals have been established to address genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, witness testimony – and therefore witness protection – has been vital to successful prosecutions. Whether it is the dramatic death of almost 100 witnesses in the formative years of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the disproportionate power of the prosecution to provide material benefit to witnesses at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the International Criminal Court`s enormous task of protecting witnesses in multiple conflicts at any given time, The justice sector afterthought provides the first description of formerly off-limits processes.
The author of an EU-funded design of a Sierra Leonean national protection programme, Chris Mahony also examines African witness protection at the national level, including South Africa`s programme and progress towards protection programmes in Kenya, Uganda and Sierra Leone. This largely descriptive narrative considers the feasibility of conducting witness protection with limited resources despite witness threats emanating from sophisticated criminal enterprises and, in some cases, elements of the state itself.
For policymakers, donors, practitioners and justice sector observers in Africa, this book exposes a critically important cog in the African justice wheel. It is time to begin considering in earnest the many pressing questions this important function poses for contemporary justice sector reform and prosecution of serious criminality in Africa.
About the author:
Chris Mahony is a justice sector consultant based at the University of Oxford where he is a candidate for a DPhil in Politics and treasurer of Oxford Transitional Justice Research. He holds Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees from the University of Otago and a master’s degree in African Studies (MSc) from the University of Oxford. Chris was admitted to the bar of the High Court of New Zealand in 2006 where he appeared for the crown in criminal and refugee matters. He drafted the recommendations on governance for the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and assisted with the compilation of the `Historical antecedents to the conflict` chapter. In 2008 Chris directed the Witness Evaluation Legacy Project at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. It designed a proposed witness protection programme for Sierra Leone`s domestic justice system. He is also a professional rugby player who has represented Auckland and has won four Oxford blues. Chris`s research interests include transitional justice, international criminal law, international human rights and humanitarian law, and African history and politics.
This publication is funded by the Governments of the Netherlands and Norway.
