Wednesday, April 3, 2024 – Prisoners are over the moon after the Government of President William Ruto, in collaboration with Chief Justice Martha Koome’s Judiciary, launched a programme geared towards the development of a community service sentence alternative for offenders convicted of petty crimes.
Community Service Orders which
are granted by the Judiciary comprise unpaid public work within a community,
for a period not exceeding the term of imprisonment for which the court would
have sentenced the offender.
According to the government, the
programme will facilitate the release of prisoners in Kenyan prisons in a
move to decongest the prisons.
On March 27, a pioneer group of
40 prisoners at Tambach GK Prison Elgeyo Marakwet County were released.
The programme is set to continue
with other counties to follow suit in crafting similar programmes.
However, under the programme,
only low-risk offenders can be released from prisons with the law providing
that those eligible are those whose offences can be served in three years or
less.
While presiding over the release
event in Tambach, Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wesly Rotich stated that other
county governments should follow suit.
Additionally, the county
embarked on a project that aims to impart skills to the released prisoners that
would help them cope beyond their release.
In more prison reforms, the Interior
Ministry through Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, on February 28, allowed
prisoners to enjoy visits previously withdrawn during the Covid-19 period.
He explained that the visits
would reintegrate normalcy into the prisoners’ lives alongside launching the
Prisoners’s Enterprise Fund to help prisoners set themselves up when they leave
prison.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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