Inmates to benefit from rehabilitation programme to decongest prisons

By Antony Gitonga

The country's penal institutions are holding 52,000 prisoners against a capacity of 16,000.

At least 28,000 of the inmates are in remand, waiting for conclusion of their cases in court.

According to the Director of Probation and After-care Services Jerim Oloo, the Ministry of Home Affairs has embarked on a programme to decongest prisons.

Mr Oloo says the move is aimed at making the penal institutions more humane and fit for inmates’ rehabilitation.

"The programme seeks to decongest the prisons by having cases of prisoners jailed for petty offences and reformed prisoners placed before a judge for review," he said.

Oloo spoke when he led senior officials from the ministry on a tour of various projects in Naivasha.

The decongestion programme will seek to have the bond terms reviewed to enable the court give offenders affordable bond terms in line with the law, Oloo said.

Naivasha prison, which is said to be among the most congested, is set to benefit from the programme.

Oloo termed the programme a major success, saying since its inception in 1999, more than 100,000 people had successfully served their sentences.

"The Community Service Order (CSO) programme is meant to help decongest the country’s penal institutions, while giving the offender an opportunity to give back to the community he has wronged."

Complete sentences

CSO Programme National Co-ordinator Lawrence Mugambi urged courts to maximise the programme to decongest prisons.

The Senior Resident Magistrate said under the new programme, offenders serving three years or below and those who had less than three years to complete their sentences, but had reformed would be considered.

Offenders who will not be considered in this programme are those charged with capital and sexual offences, motor-vehicle theft and serious economic crimes.