PS Recounts Finding 4-Day Old Child With Mother In Prison
As a result, she pleaded with the Judiciary of Kenya to expedite cases involving...
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Principal Secretary (PS) Mary Muthoni of the State Department of Correctional Services narrated her experience of her visit to Embu GK Prison on Tuesday, January 3.
During her tour, she stumbled upon a four-day-old child who was in the company of the mother at the prison facility, among the many cases that have seen mothers accompanying children in detention facilities.
As a result, she pleaded with the Judiciary of Kenya to expedite cases involving mothers accompanied by their children in prison to cut down the number of minors held in detention facilities.
The State Department of Correctional Services Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni speaking at Mwea GK Prison. /DAILY NATION
She expressed fear that the children were being exposed to communicable diseases as well as the stigmatization that comes with a child growing up in facilities only meant to detain criminals.
“The children have not committed any offences. I am imagining how that (four-day infant) will go for the next four years in case the mother is detained for that long.
"I have pleaded that some of the cases are fast-tracked so that we don’t keep mothers who have children in remand for years on end,” she was quoted by the Nation.
Muthoni added that she was committed to ensuring that children, especially those born in prison, grow up in an environment whereby they feel at home while being surrounded by relatives who accommodate them and engage them through childhood activities.
She however made it clear that she was not pushing for the release of offenders who are parents to newborns without following the due process just because of the sympathy that comes with having children.
Muthoni also moved to start daycare units for children below the age of four who were accompanying their mothers in prison, reaffirming her department's commitment to have former inmates accepted back into society after completing their jail sentences.
She also announced that she plans to reduce the population numbers in prisons through the release of petty offenders and those vetted by the mercy of power committee.
The Judiciary in December 2022 kicked off the release of hundreds of prisoners from prisons to reduce the numbers at the facilities.
“We are worried about the unprecedented high number of inmates given that as of December 5, the national prison population stood at 58,887 against the prisons' capacity of 34,000. The high number is posing challenges to the prisons service, including the provision of basic needs,” Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi said in a memo to all heads of court stations across the country.
The Chief Registrar, in the memo copied to Chief Justice Martha Koome, told judges and magistrates to immediately begin the programme to decongest prisons by using non-custodial sentences and reviewing cash bail for those in remand due to inability to raise bail.
Amadi said the courts should encourage the use of non-custodial sentences and alternative sanctions for offences which are not serious, like imposing affordable fines, community service, reconciliation, probation and conditional discharges.
She further instructed heads of court stations to immediately liaise with prison authorities to identify and provide lists of remand prisoners facing petty offences who deserve a review of bail terms to enable them to leave prison and defend themselves while out on bond.
An image of the Milimani Law Courts. /FILE
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