Reform prisons through decongestion, State told

An inmate and Crime Si Poa official at Nakuru GK Prison on June 10, 2025. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The graduation of 23 male inmates as paralegals in the Nakuru Men's Prison has renewed calls for decongestion in prisons.

The Crime Si Poa, the Paralegal Society of Kenya, and the judiciary, present during the graduation, expressed the importance of legal representation as part of the ways to decongest prisons.

Nakuru High Court Judge Julius Nangea, who presided over the graduation, said that those who are sentenced up to three years imprisonment are eligible for the decongestion program.

The judge added that the judiciary has opened a day where the stakeholders are invited to express their views, and for civil education to educate Kenyans to know their civic rights.

He stated that every accused person ought to have a legal representative at the expense of the government, but due to a lack of funding by the State, it has become difficult.

The In-Charge of Nakuru Men Prison, Gerald Gichunge, stated that 30 per cent of the inmates in the facility were sexual offenders, which was the largest percentage in the population.

He regretted that a number of the convicts claimed that they committed the act due to their cultural beliefs.

“We need to sensitize communities on the sexual offences act to enable them to understand the law, as a way of stopping crime from happening,” he added.

Mary Airo, the National Coordinator of the Paralegal Society of Kenya, said the paralegal model deals with filling the gaps in the justice system, which has contributed to congestion in prisons.

She claimed that justice systems do not appreciate non-custodial sentences in cases involving petty offences that find their way into prisons.

She explained that many petty offenders, due to their social status, can’t afford a lawyer, making it difficult for them to make bail or defend themselves.

The coordinator claimed that the Kenyan justice system was punitive and not focused on correcting them, outside prisons, as they would be corrected and monitored to avoid them slipping back into crime, leaving a gap in the justice system.

Airo accused the government of its slow nature in channeling funds to support legal aid to ensure that Kenyans have access to legal aid.

Without support from the government, she explained that the legal aid continues to struggle in maintaining its services across the 47 counties.

On addressing the allegations that the Sexual Offences Act was biased against men, she responded that women have been convicted of sexual sex-related offences.

“I would wish for the Sexual Offences Act, which comes in stronger in dealing with the perpetrators to stop defilement and rape cases which will bring down prisons population,” she said.

Peter Ouko, the Director of Crime Si Poa, stated that the program aimed at empowering the convicts to enable them to utilize the knowledge and transfer it to their colleagues.

He stated that Kenyan prisons were overcrowded even with a presidential pardon.

Ouko urged Kenyans to read and understand the constitution to avoid conflict between the security agencies and civilians.

“We all have a right thanks to our constitution, but due to a lack of knowledge, many people have suffered at the hands of the police,” he said.

He explained that the organization has penetrated the grassroots level to educate and represent accused persons in Court.     

Edward Mungai, a murder convict and a beneficiary of the program, said that a number of his colleagues had no idea how to defend themselves.

He promised to transfer the wisdom to his peers to empower them in acquiring knowledge to defend themselves when in court or during an appeal.

Wachira Aston, a murder convict, said he will channel the knowledge to fellow convicts and also help in addressing decongestion in prisons.