The Eldoret law court of Monday launched the plea bargaining week in a move to de-congest backlog of cases.
According to High Court Judge Stephen Githinji, the plea bargaining week will help solve cases that have been pending in court for over five years.
“In this week, the charges will be read afresh to the suspects where they will plead guilty for the offenses, and once they plead guilty, we have already negotiated the sentence with advocates, accused, victims, relative, and police. It is a sentence which will be agreed by all,” he said.
Speaking at the Eldoret High Court on Monday, he said the plea bargaining week will run from 2nd to 6th of December 2019.
“We have 200 suspects who are willing to pre-bargain. About 50 from the lower court, and 150 from the High court charged with murder cases.
"This means people charged with more serious offenses have embraced the process,” he added.
Githinji said the sentences given will range from probation to several years, basing on the period one has been in prison, the circumstances in which the offense was committed, and the views of those involved.
Pre-bargaining is not about releasing prisoners, but only bargaining to reduce the sentence they are serving.
Cases which do not qualify for pre-bargaining include; rape and defilement.