Children services demand rescue of minor detained at Maralal prison

The Department of Children Services wants a 12-year-old boy released from the Maralal prison.

The child was on December 15 charged in a Wamba court with stealing a goat valued at Sh3,000 in Lkilin, Samburu County.

The county children coordinator, Jane Kabiro, complained that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had yet to respond to a letter she wrote on December 19, 2017, expressing concern that a minor had been imprisoned for three months in an adult jail for stealing after he failed to pay a Sh12,000 fine.

“According to the Children's Act, you are not supposed to imprison a child or put them in detention. I wrote a letter to the DPP and they acknowledged receipt but I have not received any response,” said Ms Kabiro yesterday.

The official said she request the court to consider that besides being a minor, the child was a primary school pupil suffering from a health condition that required attention.

“We were hoping that the court would consider other detailed measures such as supervision or borstal institutions and restrict punishment to relieve the boy from further traumatic experiences in prison, where he was not meant to be,” she said.

She added that her office was in the process of escalating the matter since the minor was still being held at the prison, where she said he was isolated from other inmates.

Contacted, the DPP's office in Maralal town said it had written to the High Court in Nanyuki seeking direction.

The children's department called on the office of the DPP to fast-track the resolution of the issue.