From rodents to leaks and hunger: Inside Kenya Prisons' crisis

Lang'ata Women's Maximum Security Prison, Nairobi, September 20, 2021. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has revealed deplorable conditions in correctional facilities across the country, calling for urgent intervention.

She said inmates are living in poor conditions due to inadequate maintenance, putting their welfare and security at risk.

The findings follow verification exercises conducted in July and August last year, which revealed infestations of rodents in some prisons, leading to food wastage in storage areas.

According to Gathungu, some of the facilities affected include Nanyuki Main Prison, Meru Main Prison, Nairobi Medium and West Prisons, Mwingi Main Prison, Lang’ata Women Prison, Nyeri Maximum and Medium Security Prisons, Meru Women Prison, and Uruku Prison.

Others are Embu Main and Women's Prisons, Kitale Main, Manyani Main, Voi Remand, Kwale, Kaloleni, Kilifi, and Malindi prisons.

“Various correctional facilities remain in deplorable conditions,” Gathungu said, citing issues including lack of CCTV cameras, leaking buildings, congestion, dilapidated kitchens, and food items exposed to rain.

She noted that some administration blocks have leaking roofs, overloaded sewage systems, and kitchens needing grill replacements. Some prisons lack perimeter walls altogether.

At Nairobi Remand Prison, cells in the Capital Block and wards A & B leak during heavy rains. “The administration block requires ceiling and roof repair, 168 staff quarters need maintenance, and 615 mabati houses need upgrading,” the report states.

Kitchens also require re-roofing, new flooring, and replacement of worn-out cooking jikos with modern energy-saving units.

Lang’ata Women's Prison has three staff housing blocks with structural weaknesses due to water seepage, while Nanyuki Main Prison’s capital wards lack ceilings, posing a security threat.

At Nyeri Maximum Security Prison, inmate wards need repainting, concrete repairs, CCTV installation, and administration block ceiling repair.

Kitchens require re-roofing, painting, flooring, and replacement of four jikos, while seven medium-grade houses need roof repair.

At Nairobi West Prison, the main food store, a temporary raised iron-sheet structure, is infested with rats, causing food wastage, according to the report. At the Meru Main Prison, the report shows that 10 wards require roof replacement, plastering, and flooring in unfinished wards, toilet basin replacements, and refurbishment of 90 staff houses.

Administration, guard rooms, dispensary, and armory offices require new roofing and painting, and the prison needs a modern kitchen and ration store.

Other facilities facing critical issues include Embu Prisons, Kaloleni, Manyani, Kitui, and Kilifi Prisons, where challenges range from missing perimeter walls and inadequate staff housing to leaking roofs, floor repairs, outdated kitchens, and a lack of sewerage connectivity.

“The ceiling needs replacement due to a leaking roof, and the water closets in the wards also require replacement. Six staff housing blocks need new iron sheets, and the semi-permanent staff houses require the same. The inmates’ kitchen needs a new grill, ceiling, and water closets,” Gathungu stated.

She also said Manyani Prison requires electric fencing to keep out wild animals and that three inmate blocks, the main administration block, and three staff houses need new roofing, as the current roofs are made of asbestos. Other prisons include Kitui Main Prison, which lacks a perimeter wall.

Gathungu noted that urgent interventions are necessary to ensure the safety, hygiene, and security of inmates and staff across all facilities.