Was the release of 10,000 petty offenders well thought out?

I am optimistic that the ongoing  prison decongestion was well thought through by the Government, and will be fruitful. I say this because the correctional ways and the new programmes we offer in prisons are majorly tailored to make the inmates fit in society after they are released.

For example, there was a comprehensive monitoring of the inmates released in prisons in western Kenya, and I believe all over the country, to ensure those who were fully reformed got the pardon. Something to note also is that Government probation officers visited homes of the inmates to be released to check whether they would be “acceptable” when back to society.

The probation team recommended to the prison authorities the best candidates to free back to society. Again, the nearly 10,000 prisoners released are not the repeat offenders, since they were vetted before being released. Most of them are in fact petty offenders, who, I believe, have learnt a lesson or two and will not want to return behind bars.

We all know the major challenge in our prisons is congestion, and there would be no need of keeping people that we felt were reformed and ready to start afresh in society. It is also good for society to embrace the inmates released because they are, after all, our brothers and sisters. They are empowered and ready for another leaf in life.

 

Mr Emasse is Western Region Prisons Commander