Laxity in Kenyan prisons should not be condoned

NAIROBI: The interdiction of eight prisons officers following the escape of four hardcore criminals at Kisumu’s Kibos Prison is a welcome development. Prison authorities say the four inmates escaped by cutting the window grills of their cell and scaling the perimeter wall using blankets and sheets. This has aroused suspicion of collusion and every effort must be made to conduct a speedy investigation so that deterrent action is taken to contain laxity in our correctional institutions.

Of concern are reports that the escaped inmates are dangerous criminals — Kennedy Wesonga and Kenneth Lekesho are serving time for defilement, while Salim Sifuna is a death row inmate after he was convicted of robbery with violence. Douglas Onyancha was also convicted for murder and robbery with violence, and is facing another murder charge for killing an inmate at Kodiaga Maximum Prison in Kisumu.

These are not the kind of men we want roaming free on our streets. Therefore, every effort must be made to ensure the massive manhunt launched in Kisumu and its environs brings them back to captivity.

There have been a series of prison breaks in recent years and where the inmates have been recaptured, there is not enough evidence to suggest that warders who collude have faced sanctions.

There must be a concerted attempt to review our custodial institutions and ensure the criminals incarcerated within these walls are completely removed from society until they have served their prison terms and have been rehabilitated.

There have been far too many complaints about criminal enterprises being run by inmates behind prison walls. We may laugh off the scams run from mobile phones controlled by prisoners, and not pay enough attention to how these inmates collude with warders to run their criminal enterprises.

As these criminal enterprises go on, authorities have not shied away from publicising efforts made to make these correctional institutions more comfortable for inmates. These commendable efforts to revamp our prisons should be supported by initiatives that help rehabilitate prisoners so that those released make a meaningful contribution to society.

And while we do not expect warders to brutalise inmates, we expect them to maintain order in correctional institutions and ensure members of the public are protected from the criminal elements behind bars. There must be a lesson learnt from the Kibos prison break. Laxity by warders cannot be condoned.