Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki stated on Monday stated that the government is working to improve correctional services through a slew of reforms such as prison decongestion.
Kindiki has announced that the Ministry of Interior and National Administration will put in place policies and measures to reduce congestion in all prisons in the country by 50%.
During his speech at Mwea Prison in Kirinyaga County, Professor Kindiki mentioned that this goal would be achieved through collaboration with the Judiciary and other key players in the justice system.
Did you read this?
A new, contemporary correctional services policy will be implemented in a few months, according to the CS, and in the next three months, laws governing prisons, mental health facilities, and probation services will be reviewed to ensure they meet requirements for the twenty-first century.
According to Kindiki, the government encourages alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and non-custodial or community service sentences to ease the number of inmates in correctional facilities.
Every prisoner, according to Kindiki, ought to have a bed and mattress of their own. He further stated that in order to ensure the success of the "One Prisoner, One Bed, One Mattress" program, the government will collaborate with the business sector.
The CS added that the government would also invest Ksh.1B to modernize equipment in prisons to ensure inmates receive new skills and produce products that are competitive in the industry and modern market.
Kindiki further stated that prisons should not be hell but a place of reform and rehabilitation. He confirmed that most of the inmates are young people, and the government looks forward to them leaving prisons, reformed appropriately so that they participate in nation-building.
On the welfare of inmates, the CS said two pairs of uniforms would be the standard, while prison staff will also see new uniforms provided.
Accompanying Kindiki were Correctional Services Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni, Commissioner General of Prisons John Warioba, and other high-ranking government officials.
