Aged inmates at Kamiti struggle with rigid life behind bars

Peter Ongoro Nyamesa aged 86 years, is an inmate at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison where he is cooling his heels in old age.

The octogenarian was thrown behind bars for defiling a 15-year-old girl, an offence he denies and has appealed against the life sentence.

The man with a poor grasp of Kiswahili language insists he was framed by neighbours in Gatundu, Kiambu County where he worked as a driver for 30 years.

He was sentenced on March 12, 2019. “It took me by surprise when I was arrested and told that I had defiled the girl. Further allegations were that I was even sleeping with the girl’s two sisters aged 20 and 30 years,” says Ongoro in an interview at the correctional facility.

According to the grandfather, the complainants in the case – mother and father – have never appeared in court.

He believes he is a victim of false accusations by ‘envious’ neighbours. “The three sisters used to frequent my house since they were friends with my daughters; how it turned out that I slept with them is beyond my comprehension. I have left everything to God,” he states while gazing into the blue sky.

Ongoro’s prayer is that he be released and allowed to enjoy his sunset years in the company of his grandchildren back home in Kisii County. At an advanced age, Ongoro says he is a liability in prison and a harmless creature in society.

Ongoro is not the only octogenarian at Kamiti. There are fourteen of them. Apart from two; jailed for murder, and the other sentenced for trafficking in narcotics – the rest are behind bars for either defilement, committing an indecent act with a child or incest.

Unfortunately, the elderly prisoners’ plea to be set free is a tall order since penalties for the offences they face are severe, and neither can they be eligible for clemency. Further, there is no clear legislation on how prison authorities should deal with old inmates, some who are convicted while in prime age while others land in custody when already elderly.

For instance, according to the law, defilement of a child of 11 years and below carries a sentence of life imprisonment, defilement of a child aged between 12 years to 15 years carries a sentence of 20 years while defilement of a teenager aged between 16 years and 18 years carries a sentence of 15 years.

For murder, the sentence is death though the Supreme Court declared the mandatory death sentence unconstitutional.

Unless the law is amended to take into consideration the plight of elderly prisoners, the likes of Ongoro will remain behind bars despite their unique challenges in old age. Prison facilities in Kenya do not cater for the special needs of aged inmates.

Most of the octogenarians interviewed by The Standard claim they were framed up by either relatives or neigbours out to take their land. Prison authorities did not grant permission for their photographs to be taken.

“I found myself here because a neighbour wanted to grab my 25 acres of land in Kitui. I understand he finally succeeded after I was thrown into prison,” says 80-year-old Charles Kyusya Masuvi.

Kyusya is facing a life sentence for defiling a 15-year-old girl. Allegedly, the defilement accusations were trumped up to have him arrested since the old man was the obstacle in the land dispute.

He has appealed against the December 9, 2020 sentence. “We are too old and frail to be here; let them (the government) release us, we go back home and see our grandchildren,” says Kyusya.

Not a place for the aged

Apart from the bustle and hustle at Kamiti, the elderly prisoners struggle with health problems made worse by hearing and vision impairment, and walking challenges.

In a nutshell, they have difficulties coping with the demands of prison life where the provision of proper healthcare is unavailable.  

The daily routine at Kamiti, according to Joseph Juma, a trustee of his peers, revolves around waking up and going for breakfast and attending a counselling session before retreating back to the cells after a brief break basking in the sun when the weather is friendly.

“This happens to around mid-morning, we then return to the prison block where we waste the whole day. It’s a boring routine of waking up and whiling away seated in the same place,” says the 80-year-old inmate who was convicted of murder in 1992 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

For Robert Musili Maluvu without the support of his peers, prison life could have been extremely difficult. The 85-year-old suffers from hearing impairment and largely depends on his old inmates to decode information and instructions.

Although Musili has appealed, he has lost faith in the slow wheels of justice. He is serving a 20-year jail term after being accused of defiling a 15-year-old girl at Kaloleni village in Yatta of Kitui County. He blames a man he sold two acres of his land for Sh140,000 for fixing him. That the buyer after declining to offset a Sh5,000 balance, colluded with a certain woman who claimed that the old man, a member of Nyumba Kumi Initiative, defiled her daughter.

Serving a life sentence for trafficking in narcotics, Yaqoob Ibrahim uses a crutch to move around, language barrier notwithstanding. Apart from the walking challenges, the 80-year-old Pakistani national sentenced on March 3, 2023, is ever in catheters following an operation in the abdomen.

Other ageing prisoners are Kinyaika Kinjungu who is aged 80 and serving a life sentence since April 8, 2018, after being charged with the offence of committing an indecent act with a child, 85-year-old Amos Wambua Kisilu who is in for life over incest and Muinde Kithaka, 88, serving a life sentence for defilement.

82-year-old Joseph Maina is in prison for life for the offence of defilement while Mwenda Malombe, 80, has been jailed for 30 years over the same offence, so is Antony Wainaina Nganga aged 80 who will remain in jail for 20 years. 81-year-old Kijaa Nguna was convicted for murder and will serve for 20 years while James Njuguna Nyaga, 81, was handed a life sentence for defilement.

Even as the elderly inmates plead for mercy, claiming they were framed up, Dr John Onyango Omboto, a crime, criminal justice and offender rehabilitation expert says the offenses facing them are serious and capital in nature.

“The law is an ass and blind; when you commit a crime, you deserve punishment and the punishment must commensurate the offense one committed. For those who commit capital offenses, the law does not allow for clemency,” said Dr Omboto, a lecturer at Kenyatta University.

Immediate former Commissioner General Brig (Rtd) John Warioba estimates that there are more than 100 octogenarians cooling their heels in prisons across the country.

“They are many, and it is unfortunate that there is nothing we can do about their predicament; it’s the law. But honestly, they need not to be in such places where some of them are even in diapers,” Warioba told The Standard before he retired recently.

Some of the prison officials were in concurrence that there is need to relook into the Sexual Offences Act and Children’s Act, which they feel are being abused to settle scores.

“Based on interactions with prisoners, it is easy for one to be framed up for defilement since the threshold for proof is not that high. One can land in jail on mere suspicion, the Sexual Offences Act and Children Act, in my view have a lot of ambiguities,” said a senior officer at Kamiti Maximum Prison.

Cases used to settle scores

The views were echoed by a colleague at Kitengela Prison. According to the officer, most of the defilement cases are not genuine. “When people want your land, they come up with a defilement conspiracy to throw you behind bars. We have men in prison framed by children after they refused to sub-divide land and bequeath them inheritance,” said the officer.

A prison, in many aspects, is a microcosm of society. Like the general public is ageing, so are inmates but conditions in prisons do not favour the aged.

“The geriatrics don’t cope with prison life where there is a lot of rigour and vigour, and our prisons system does not take care for the vulnerable,” observed Dr Omboto who once served as a prison officer before quitting.

Most elderly offenders pose little threat to public safety and their release from custody can ease congestion in the already overcrowded prisons where the State is struggling with the cost of keeping them there.

Though some of the elderly prisoners have earned freedom under the Power of Mercy Advisory Committee (POMAC) programme, a law dealing with elderly prisoners would be a step in the right direction.

Challenges facing old inmates are made worse by the fact that warders have limited if any, training about the unique needs of elderly prisoners.  There have been claims of defenseless older prisoners being physically and sexually abused by the younger inmates.

Dr Omboto says elderly prisoners are more predisposed to stress due to poor healthcare and diet.