The collapse of vision on prison reforms

By PATRICK MATHANGANI

Prisons in Kenya are under the grip of widespread corruption, chronic congestion and rights abuses despite a reform plan started seven years ago, enquiries by CCI have revealed.
And warders are still living miserably in ramshackle houses across the country, as reforms started in 2003 have been painstakingly slow.

With 18,000 members of staff, the prisons authority has only managed to build 492 new housing units in the last two years.
Sources in Kenya’s main prisons say improvements for inmates’ conditions are minimal, and the jails are yet to turn into the envisioned correctional facilities.
This is because of the dehumanising conditions, diseases and poor hygiene not just for inmates but also for warders.

Emergency plan

A decongestion plan through the Community Service Order, which requires petty offenders to be given menial jobs in their community instead of being committed to jail, has also not borne fruit.
Magistrates have largely ignored it, which has resorted in an emergency plan to release 50,000 petty offenders from jail. The fact that these small offenders who include touts and hawkers were put to jail in the first place is testament that the Judiciary has not fully supported the CSO.
Interviews with sources at one of the country’s most protected prisons, Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, accused warders of flouting regulations, allowing contraband and selling basic amenities including water and food.
The lack of water has been blamed for cholera outbreaks recently reported at the facility.
"Water is for those who can afford it," said a source who asked not to be identified for security reasons. "Those who can’t afford take many days before they can even wash their hands."
He said because water is not available in some of the toilet blocks, prisoners have to seek authority to go out and fetch it. This authority is granted by officers, who often demand to be paid.
Kamiti has also designated isolation blocks for inmates with infectious diseases, but they are highly congested and expose warders to disease.
According to Mr Lenson Njogu, a programme officer with Legal Resources Foundation, patients with all types of diseases are put together. For instance, during the recent cholera outbreak, the patients were put in the same isolation blocks with those suffering from TB and those in the last
stages of HIV/Aids.

Suffering for children

This, however, is against the Children’s Act, which requires children under trial to be taken care of in their designated areas.
Since 2003 when the reforms started, lobbyists have demanded better treatment for children, but this is yet to happen as the remand homes are also congested.
A source at Nairobi Remand Prison in Industrial Area said scores of children are still locked up there, where they were committed by magistrates.
The children have their own block, but two of the cells are occupied by adults.
"They mingle freely especially during lunch hours, visiting hours, and when they are let out to play," said the source.
Some of the adults locked up there are accused of serious crimes such as murder and robbery with violence. With this kind of scenario, children can easily pick up bad behaviour and language from adult criminals.
However, this scenario is contributed largely by magistrates who are ignorant of the Children’s Act and lack of remand centres for children. For instance, if a certain region has no remand home, the law requires them to be transported to the nearest one. This may be in another province, leaving
police with a big burden of transporting the children every time their cases come up for hearing.
"In such circumstances, the children are never taken for hearing of their cases, which leads to delays," Njogu said. In other cases, magistrates who are seemingly unaware of the provisions of the Children’s Act order that they be remanded in prisons.

A forgotten lot

In 2008, when warders went on strike over poor pay and poor working conditions, the Government set up a committee to investigate the matter. Headed by former cabinet minister Marsden Madoka, the committee made key recommendations including improvement in housing for warders, better uniforms, improved pay, risk allowance and medical care.
It recommended new measures to decongest prisons, improve inmates’ health, food and also to provide a good working environment at prisons industries.
A new integrated committee on prison reforms was set up to implement these, but sources in prisons say there has been little achievement made.
Across the country, warders are still living in deplorable houses, some made of mud and iron sheets.
Central Provincial Prisons Commander Mr Dancan Ogore said more than 300 modern houses were required for the warders at King’ong’o Prison in Nyeri.
He said existing houses were dilapidated, adding that warders had resorted to putting up their own houses.
"Aggrieved officers seek permission to buy iron sheets, which they use to build their own houses within the prison’s precincts," said Ogore.
Last financial year, the Government released some funds for construction of some houses in specified penal institutions in the country, which were meant for fresh recruits.
"But it was unfortunate that it is only Ruiru Prison that was targeted in Central Province," lamented Ogore.
CCI also learnt that the Government is in the process of providing new uniforms for warders.

Varying uniforms

However, unlike in the past when they got finished uniforms, most prisons are barely providing their staff with materials (seven metres per person) and warders asked to foot the cost of making the uniforms.
However, while it may save costs for the department, warders may eventually have uniforms with differing designs.
A spokesman for the prisons service Mr David Kilundo said to ease congestion, 10 new prisons have been built across the country. However, some, like a new unit for women in Migori, are built within existing jails.
Others include Kaloleni, Yatta, Vihiga, Chuka, Kilgoris, Mwingi, Sotik, Nyamira, Rachuonyo and Kangeta.
However, he admitted the CSO had not taken root, mainly because the society had not accepted it.
"People look at the offender and say he should not be allowed out of jail. If such people are

Additional reporting by Job Weru