Prisons' infrastructure is still 'colonial' despite talk of reforms

Kamiti Maximum Prison's entrance.[FILE] "Hail jail! The house for all. The only house where a government minister and a pickpocket dine together, work together and discuss matters on equal terms." This powerful opening punch is by the late Mwangi Gicheru's in his classic, Across the Bridge. Nelson Mandela had blown his wisdom on these words when after his 27-year-old painful incarceration at the Robben Island famously concluded that a nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones. Prisons in Kenya are operationalised under the Prisons Act (Cap 90) and the Borstal Act (Cap 92) and plays a pivotal role in the criminal justice system, focusing on public safety and security. The key mandate is to provide safe custody and rehabilitation of persons in conflict with the law for reintegration back into society. The Kenya Prisons system was introduced by the British colonial administration in 1902 with the enactment of the East Africa Prisons Regulations and gained autonomy in 1911. This history is very important for the penal reforms discourse because it gives the milestones upon which the prisons have strived to catch up with new trends in crime and rehabilitation. The Kenyan prisons system were first established by the colonial regime to punish and crush any upheaval against their forced occupation and lording over Kenyans. The goal was to mute any rebellious voice that would be in contradiction of their dominion and scooping of materials and resources using unpaid labour by Kenyans. In fact Kenyans had to pay the settlers and invaders for working for them through poll and hut tax. While the current motto of Kenya Prisons Service is 'Kurekebisha na Haki' (Rehabilitation and Justice) indicating a shift from incarceration, vengeance, chastisement and censure, there is need to examine why the dream seems a mirage than a trophy in the offing. Indeed the leadership of Kenya Prisons Service deserve standing ovation for standing true to its motto. Having visited and inspected prisons from mid 90s to date, I can attest there is a very huge difference fanned by a zeal towards positivity in prison reforms albeit through tough challenges either infrastructure, policy and or regime support. Infrastructure and its architectural design of all prisons in Kenya is the biggest threat to all efforts in prison reforms. Some of the prisons resemble dungeons unfit to carry out the noble task of rehabilitating offenders in a modern and civilised society. The Nairobi Remand and Allocation Prison (christened Inda) was established in 1911 while a clear marking emblazoned at the entrance of Machakos Prison indicates that it was started in 1928. Kamiti Maximum prison was started in 1955 and the list of Kenyans' places of detentions indicates legal notices of those yester-years. A detailed insight of this can be found at the official Kenya National Council for Law Reporting website. Now, with a considerable list of prisons in Kenya dating back to a century or back, the sober question is whether the same facilities were designed for rehabilitation or for containing and silencing Africans who were simply opposed to the colonial rule vis-a-vis rehabilitation. It is also important to take into consideration the population figures and crime statistics of that time. For instance, according to available data, the population of Kenya in 1955 was approximately 6,980,000 million people when Kamiti Prison was established, compared to today when it is estimated at 57,532,493. If you can calculate the percentage growth, it's too obvious that this is quiet high and we haven't advanced the facilities exponentially so. The question of the intended architectural design again was not to provide facilities for rehabilitation and just slight creative and minimalistic alterations and modifications have taken place. It's obvious that due to financial constraints, only little or minimalistic modifications have been done to be congruent with current dynamics. There is need for Kenya, through law and practice, to put in place a model prison based on current parameters including globally accepted best standards. For meaningful reforms to take place, there is an urgent need to have a professionally designed blue print with specific indications such as the minimal sizes of holding space including the cells, sanitary areas, training rooms, screening tools, prison officers' quarters, offices, watch towers, segregation cells and other important areas within a prison. Decongestion in prisons as a reforms issue can partially be achieved if all the pre-colonial and other non-conforming detention facilities are redesigned. A poorly designed or a converted prison facility overworks a prison officer who at times is forced to work more than what is required. Similarly, poorly designed or obsolete prisons with congestion problems will only exacerbate the problem associated with infections such as respiratory diseases, skin ailments and be a conducive ground for vermin to thrive. This can easily be transferred to prison officers and easily transmitted to their families. The Judiciary holds the key to unlock the decongestion problem in prisons. Towards the end of last year, prisons had around 61,000 prisoners although their capacity is around 30,000 inmates. Prison authorities link this to high amounts imposed by courts as bail and bond terms. While crime must not be tolerated, courts must give terms which are viable, especially for less serious offences in order to ease the burden off the prisons. Quick dispensation and fast-tracking of court cases can also be a vent to help the prison systems to breath. As Kenyans, we clog the criminal justice system by taking every conflict to the courts and the prisons will be on the receiving end of the process. Kenyans are yet to embrace avenues such mediation and arbitration which are less tedious, less costly and offer quicker solutions. Kenyans should consider these alternatives to courts systems and apply social avenues such as religious bodies, family circles, local administration and interpersonal approach to less serious conflict. The best way towards prison reforms would have been complete autonomy of Kenya's prison systems. During the review of the Constitution, some Kenyans were touting for an independent prison dispensation which would have seen the establishment of a system where an independent prisons constitutional body would be in charge instead of having a service under a ministry. This would have had far-reaching implications on the side of staff welfare, resource and budgets management, independent policy drive and less State red-carpet bureaucracy. This never came to be; however, the only window of hope is the finalisation of the laws governing the management of prisons, the Prison Act (CAP 90) and the Borstal ACT (CAP 92).

Prisons' infrastructure is still 'colonial' despite talk of reforms

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