Kenyan constitution does not provide for any special treatment for aged prisoners

NAIROBI: The constitution does not provide for any special treatment for aged prisoners.

Kenya's governing law as it is has a general view on imprisonment, be it be an old person or a young person who has been committed to jail term for either a civil offense or a criminal one.

Speaking with the Standard lawyers Donald Rabala, John Swaka and Millie Jalega said that the law does not have preferential treatment to anyone but one can get a good treat in prison on humanitarian basis.

"There is not specific law to handle people with special needs like the old people but according to the African culture, one can have a better treatment on account of age as we can see in the case. Once a person is in jail, then you will have to adjust to the environment around that place,'' Mr Swaka said.

In regard to contempt of court, Mr Rabala said that one is given an option of paying a fine to escape from being behind bars but if one does not raise the amount ordered by the court, then the only option is to serve a custodial jail term.

Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the offense of being disobedient to or disrespectful towards a court of law and its officers in the form of behaviour that opposes or defies authority, justice, and dignity of that court.

It manifests itself in wilful disregard of or disrespect for the authority of a court of law, which is often behaviour that is illegal because it does not obey or respect the rules of a law court.

When a court finds that an action constitutes contempt of court, it can issue a court order that in the context of a court trial or hearing declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority, called "found" or "held in contempt''.

A judge, according to the constitution, has powers to impose punishment for acts that disrupt the court's normal process.

Mr Rabala said that before a person is sent to jail for contempt, there must be proof that the person involved was either in a court of law when the orders were issued or was served with the orders but they decide overlook them.

"The law does not discriminate in terms of age. Margret Ngima had been given an option of a fine as it takes away the jail punishment,'' Rabala said.

Questions that emanate from the 100-year-old imprisonment are if the Embu Court gave Mrs Ngima a warning before she handed her a three months civil jail, if she was notified of the orders by her lawyer or if did she apply for time to comply.

Mr Swaka was of the view that her lawyer would have asked for time for the old lady to comply and even make an application to review the orders of the court considering her ripe age, a sentiment reiterated by lawyer Jalega.

"The best thing might not have been to send her to jail but settle the case in other ways but we do not know the genesis of the case,'' said Swaka.

"One can purge the contempt and the court can look at you more favourably especially in regard to the age. She should go and apologize to the court and ask it to review its orders,” Ms Jalega Said

The three lawyers hold that she needs to brought be back before a court and there be an interpreter who can explain to her what is happening and the consequences of failing to obey the court.