Law_of_Evidence_in_Kenya
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IDENTIFICATION CASES; this is where witness identification at first instances is considered
as corroboration
6.0 CONSTITUTION AND CORROBORATION EVIDENCE
Corroboration is usually required to protect the accused from suspicious evidence and avoid the
risk of conviction on fabricated evidence. Article 50 of constitution provides that the accused
must be given a fair trial. The law will always be try and protect the accused “it is better to let 99
guilty people free than have one innocent man incarcerated.” This just tell us that in case
evidence is suspicious, it works at the accused advantage. Requiring corroboration does not also
seem fair to the victims who do not have an independent confirmatory evidence. In such a case it
will result to an injustice to the person who cannot get supporting evidence despite the credibility
of his own evidence. Under article 50 (9) the parliament shall enact legislation providing for
protection of rights and welfare of victims of offences, this can be done by allowing or accepting
uncorroborated evidence instead of quashing convictions for lack of corroboration. Every person
has equal rights before the law and therefore it should be applied mutually.
Silence has been said to amount to corroboration but the constitution states that the accused has
the right to remain silent and not testify during the proceedings. 17 In such a case corroboration
will be unconstitutional and invalid.
7.0 RELEVANCE OF CORROBORATION
The question many people keep asking themselves is whether the modern society still needs to
corroborate evidence. Some people have felt that the law of corroboration is obsolete and should
be done away with especially after emergence of modern scientific evidence. They don‟t
understand why it still existing or why such evidences are also corroborated. The other group
feel that corroboration still has relevance and deleting it would result to miscarriage of justice.
They although recommend that it should be reviewed so that certainty is reached.
17 Article 50 (2) (i) constitution of Kenya 2010