Prison moots Sh30 million waste management plan

Commissioner of Prisons Isaiah Osugo (left) inspects one of the lagoons holding Kisumu Maximum Prison's sewage in Kisumu on March 5, 2019. [Denish Ochieng/Standard]

A Kisumu prison will benefit from a Sh30 million State plan that will help modernise its waste management systems.

Commissioner General for Prisons Isaiah Osugo has said the plan was a follow-up on the results of an evaluation that exposed how poorly the prison was disposing its waste.

Last week, the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) visited the Kisumu Maximum Security Prison after complaints from the public that it was discharging its waste into nearby rivers.

Yesterday, after touring the facility, Mr Osugo admitted that the waste management infrastructure was broken.

Modern infrastructure

Osugo, who addressed the media after the tour, said the facility would get Sh6 million to come up with short-term measures for handling the situation.

The remaining Sh24 million will be released after three months, to set up a modern infrastructure, he said.

Osugo said work would involve dislodging of lagoons, construction of sewer lines and manholes as well as putting up a fence around the facility.

“When this facility was set up in the 1960s, it had only 800 inmates and a few staff. Today, there are about 3,000 inmates and a growing number of staff,” Osugo said.

Nema Chief Enforcement Officer Robert Orina, who accompanied Osugo, said his office had been working with prison officials to ensure waste was not discharged into the rivers.

“We have been receiving complaints from the public about the waste discharge," said Mr Orina, adding: "We have also identified the problem. With these new plans we are sure poor waste management will be a thing of the past."