Proposal to privatize Kenya prison system for better services, higher revenue

Prisoners at the Kisumu main Prison at Kodiaga get baptised by Seventh Day Adventist Church officials on Saturday. More than 215 inmates were baptised.[PHOTOS: COLLINS ODUOR/STANDARD]

NAIROBI, KENYA: Poor services in prisons could be a thing of the past if a call for the Government to privatise the facilities is heeded. The Government has been asked to adopt a private prisons management system as the best way of addressing harsh conditions in the correctional institutions.

A case study conducted by Alex Kimani of the Kabarak University School of Law indicates that the criminal justice system in the country is reeling under a rising number of inmates and overcrowded prison conditions, which can easily be managed through privatisation.