Communication a problem in Kenya's prisons

The Director of Offender correction and Rehabilitation in the Kenya Prison Service Mary Khaemba speaking at a Homa Bay hotel when she opened a training on socio-psychological support for Homa Bay prison warders. BY JAMES OMORO

Lack of adequate communication skills among prison warders is undermining service delivery.

The Director of Offender Correction and Rehabilitation in the Kenya Prison Service, Mary Khaemba, said poor communication skills among prison officers has deterred many inmates from acquiring services they are entitled to.

Speaking in Homa Bay during a training session on psychological support for Homa Bay prison warders, Ms Khaemba said the situation had instilled fear in inmates.

"Communication is a very important tool in prisons between the staff and inmates as well as among the staff themselves. However, there are occasions when an inmate may seek assistance from an officer then the officer ends up dismissing them mainly due to lack of knowledge on how to probe the problem and get a solution," she said.

She said time had come for the situation to be reversed. Khaemba urged prison officers to change their negative attitudes against inmates.

"We organised this training as an effort to reverse the trend by equipping these prison officers with the requisite skills of communication and psycho-social support to improve services in the prison," she said.

Khaemba urged the warders to understand that inmates also had rights which included being served well.

She said they had begun offering such training to prison warders countrywide to enhance service delivery in all prisons.