Onsarigo, celebrated for his fearless reporting, revealed
how the experience reshaped his outlook on justice, crime, and humanity.
Speaking on the Iko Nini podcast, Dennis recalled
his early visits with a mix of fear and respect.
“Prison is a controlled place; they reduce you to nothing.
My fear was always: how do I get out safely?” he admitted.
That fear was justified given that he often interviewed
inmates whose files contained chilling evidence, from decapitated bodies to
reconstructed remains.
“When you interview someone
whose files show they clearly killed someone and they admit it, it’s intense,” he said.
However, over time, Dennis learnt that building rapport was
more effective than intimidation.
“You see raw evidence:
decapitated bodies, reconstructed remains. The first years were tough, but
eventually I built rapport,” he said.
“Some inmates became friends,” he added.
He was particularly struck by women’s prisons, praising
Lang’ata Women’s Prison for its landscaping, cleanliness, and humane
management.
Confessions alone were never enough; Dennis pored over
volumes of police reports, witness statements, and postmortems, sometimes
spending weeks on a single case.
He also sought out victims’ families, ensuring their voices
were heard.
“We weren’t judges; our work was to present all sides and
let the public decide,” he explained.
Some cases left lasting scars.
He recalled a woman whose 30-year sentence for killing her
husband was increased to life on appeal, and another man, merely present at the
scene, also condemned to life.
“That kind of injustice stays with you,” Onasrigo admitted.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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