7,000 prisoners freed to create room for corrupt individuals

President Uhuru Kenyatta is saluted by Chief of Defence Forces Samson Mwathethe as he stands to speak during Mashujaa Day at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos. (Photo: Boniface Okendo/Standard)

President Uhuru Kenyatta Thursday freed over 7,000 petty offenders.

The move was seen as a symbolic step signalling he had done his part in the war against corruption and the remaining tasks in dealing with ‘big fish’ were now in the hands of investigative and prosecuting agencies.

The President has last Tuesday said he would be emptying prisons of petty thieves to create space for the big fish behind corruption cartels. He then challenged the new Chief Justice David Maraga to fast-track corruption cases.

He even joked that there was enough beans in prison to feed those who will be jailed due to corruption.

Prisoners are usually fed on thin cabbage soup and ugali, or githeri (mixture of maize and beans), with plain porridge for breakfast.

The petty offenders tasted their freedom on Mashujaa Day as President Uhuru announced his pardon in Machakos County, the venue of this year’s heroes’ day, dedicated to celebrating personalities who fought the British colonial rule.

President Kenyatta’s release order comes at a time when the Opposition has been accusing the Jubilee administration of condoning mega corruption citing Eurobond, National Youth Service and National Youth Fund as unresolved mega-million scandals.

Petty thieves

“Hao ni wezi wadogo wa kuku na ng’ombe na tunawaachilia kutengeneza nafasi ya kufunga wale wafisadi wakubwa. (Those are petty thieves of chicken and cattle; we are releasing them to create room for big fish engaged in corruption),” said Kenyatta.

Mr Kenyatta told new CJ Maraga who was present at the celebrations that he should now not complain over congestion in prison when convicting those found guilty of stealing public funds and assets.

On Tuesday, the President accused the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and police of shoddy investigations and criticised the Auditor General for lack of specific details on the corrupt in his stinging reports on fiscal management by public officials.

He also declared that short of having the suspects court-martialed at Uhuru Park, he had done his part and is tired of frustrations by these institutions and that of the Office of the Attorney General.

The President had expressed similar sentiments to Justice Maraga when he swore him in as Chief Justice on Wednesday, stating there were over 680 corruption cases pending in courts and for which no one had been convicted.

During the accountability forum at State House on Tuesday, the Judiciary came under scrutiny as the weakest link in the fight against corruption. It was accused of failing to convict any high-ranking individuals charged with corruption, especially from the list of 175 the President forced out of government last year.

“Show me an administration since independence that has taken action on corruption like I have,” Uhuru dared Kenyans that Tuesday. 

Statistics EACC presented at the State House summit showed there were 536 corruption cases pending in courts in which 891 persons have been charged with various corruption offences, ranging from theft of public funds, abuse of office to irregularities in procurement.

The anti-graft agency also complained about the lenient sentences meted out on corruption suspects by courts, the high number of acquittals and unfavourable rulings by Judiciary.

It remains to be seen if the President’s gesture to free up space for big corruption offenders will bear fruit given the slow pace in which corruption cases take in the courts.

In the past four years since the Jubilee government took over power, only a few middle-level, present and former Government officials have been found guilty and sent to jail.

According to EACC, only 18 cases have been finalised in court which resulted in eight convictions. Among those convicted were former Eldoret East MP Peris Simam and two Nyeri County Executive Members who were jailed for two years.

Several State agencies, including judges and non-governmental organisations have complained about congestion in prisons occasioned by petty offences that can be punished by alternative correctional services.

As at April 2016, records from the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government showed Kenyan prisons have a total of 57,000 inmates comprising of convicted and remand prisoners.

The number of prisoners in Kenya is considerably high given that the Kenyan facilities only have capacity to hold 27,000 prisoners.

Correctional services Principal Secretary Micah Powon had early this month stated the Government would release thousands of petty offenders and adopt Community Service Orders (CSO) and Probation Orders (PO) as alternative sentences for the offenders.

Under this system, petty offenders are either put under the supervision of a probation officer or put on community service.