For troublesome children, a mention of Kodiaga Prison is enough to make them change their behaviour. So, parents have constantly used the penal institution to scare off their wayward children.
While the core function of prisons in Kenya is to rehabilitate offenders and keep in custody those who are awaiting trial, the jails have failed to do exactly that, 52 years after independence.
Most prisons, including Kodiaga in Kisumu County, were built during the colonial era. Since then, nothing much has changed in the facilities.
For instance, Kodiaga Prison, which is meant to host some 2,650 prisoners, currently carries double the figure. Instances where prisoners have run out of water or basic commodities like drugs or worse died are alarming.
"It is too much when you have 10 deaths in one prison within two months. There must be something wrong in Kodiaga," those were the words of Kisumu West MP Olago Aluoch during Parliament proceedings in 2009.
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Recently, an alleged serial killer died after a fight with his cellmates. The killing, coupled with harsh living conditions represent a more chilling reality the detainees have to grapple with everyday.
APPALLING CONDITIONS
During a media tour of the prison a couple of weeks ago, this writer witnessed the appalling conditions the prisoners live in. The first thing that greets someone is how rusty the facility is. A Parliamentary Committee on Administration and National Security also witnessed the awful conditions at Kodiaga, especially in the dormitories where prisoners have to withstand leaking roofs and small food ratios.
The MPs who toured the facility were Ikolomani MP Bernard Masaka, Samwel Moroto (Kapenguria), James Bett (Kesses), Zachayo Cheruyiot (Kuresoi South) and Bernard Shinali (Ikolomani).
They challenged the Government to allocate more resources for upgrading of prisons to meet international standards.
Due to shortage of resources at the prison, convicts sleep on tattered mattresses and worn-out blankets.
The health centre at the facility had run out of drugs as well as equipment for the better part of the year, and also lacked basic drugs like antibiotics.
At the workshops where prisoners gain technical skills in carpentry and metal fabrication, machines are worn out therefore slowing work. At the women's prison which hosts 100 inmates, life is unbearable for children who have to stay with their mothers. The convicts asked the MPs to amend laws to allow them have conjugal rights at least every month.
