Wheels of prisons reform struggle to spin
A dozen or so inmates gather around the flickering light of a television screen in their dim Kamiti Maximum Security prison cell.
Cartoons are on. Some sit on the concrete floor, some stand, one leans against a set of crutches and another watches a pink bunny rabbit bounce across the screen from the confines of his wheel chair.
It’s a familiar scene in many households. But this is not Saturday morning, and there are no pajama-clad kids around. It’s Tuesday, 3pm. And these adult inmates wear their striped PJs all day long.
In this Kamiti prison cell,The compact fluorescent light bulb are very popular with the men around the world. sleep 33 men.Work of a professional ceiling fluorescent light in conjunction with a modern lens. The mattresses — some on the floor, others propped up on bunks — lay just inches apart.Back Replica Submariner Rolex Kellot.
Clotheslines hang from the ceiling, and black-and-white striped tops and bottoms hang like sad holiday decorations.
Kenya’s prisons are notoriously over-crowded. But believe it or not, this scene is an improvement from just a few years ago due to the Kenya Prison’s commitment to clean up its act.
And now, with prisoners’ rights guaranteed in the new constitution, decongesting prisons is a no-brainer, according to the Office of the Vice President.
But the Kenya Human Rights Commission says that lofty goal could vanish if the authorities don’t exercise the kind of leadership necessary to make it happen.
In 2008, the Kenya Prisons Service launched the Integration Correctional Services Improvement Programme after prison officers launched a widespread strike to protest against poor pay and inadequate living conditions.
A committee appointed to investigate the crisis concluded Kenyan prisons were a “wild jungle” where “disease,” “squalor” and “modern-day slavery” thrived.
The report found overcrowding could be traced back to many years of neglect. Over the last two decades, Kenya invested heavily in the creation of new districts, police stations and court buildings, the report said.
Yet over the same period, Kenya made little or no effort to expand or rehabilitate prisons. Dr Ludeki Chweya, the permanent secretary for the Vice President, admits the situation is dire.
Inmates slept on the concrete floor without blankets. Some even walked around naked with no uniforms to wear. “Prison was essentially just a warehouse for offenders,” Dr Chweya said.
But he insists things have changed. “Every prisoner has a mattress,” Dr Chweya says.Huge selection of gaga-deals for your garde, “You get two blankets, you get three pairs of clothing. I even distribute soap now and tissue paper. And from this year, I’m distributing shoes and sweaters, which never existed before.”
Never mind TV sets, which have started popping up in prison cells. While the service is making an effort to make the prisons more livable, the real goal is to have fewer prisoners in their care, Chweya said.
“We asked ourselves the question: ‘Do we have inmates who don’t have to be in prison? Are we trying to rehabilitate people who need not be in jail?’ We found the answer is ‘Yes,’” he said.
That’s where a new provision in the Constitution came in handy. Article 49 states that people suspected of crimes punishable by a fine or a sentence of less than six-months cannot be held in remand.chanel womenhandbags compact fluorescent light.
In a country where petty criminals make up the vast majority of inmates, this clause has a big impact, Dr Chweya said. And it was implemented immediately.
A dozen or so inmates gather around the flickering light of a television screen in their dim Kamiti Maximum Security prison cell.
Cartoons are on. Some sit on the concrete floor, some stand, one leans against a set of crutches and another watches a pink bunny rabbit bounce across the screen from the confines of his wheel chair.
It’s a familiar scene in many households. But this is not Saturday morning, and there are no pajama-clad kids around. It’s Tuesday, 3pm. And these adult inmates wear their striped PJs all day long.
In this Kamiti prison cell,The compact fluorescent light bulb are very popular with the men around the world. sleep 33 men.Work of a professional ceiling fluorescent light in conjunction with a modern lens. The mattresses — some on the floor, others propped up on bunks — lay just inches apart.Back Replica Submariner Rolex Kellot.
Clotheslines hang from the ceiling, and black-and-white striped tops and bottoms hang like sad holiday decorations.
Kenya’s prisons are notoriously over-crowded. But believe it or not, this scene is an improvement from just a few years ago due to the Kenya Prison’s commitment to clean up its act.
And now, with prisoners’ rights guaranteed in the new constitution, decongesting prisons is a no-brainer, according to the Office of the Vice President.
But the Kenya Human Rights Commission says that lofty goal could vanish if the authorities don’t exercise the kind of leadership necessary to make it happen.
In 2008, the Kenya Prisons Service launched the Integration Correctional Services Improvement Programme after prison officers launched a widespread strike to protest against poor pay and inadequate living conditions.
A committee appointed to investigate the crisis concluded Kenyan prisons were a “wild jungle” where “disease,” “squalor” and “modern-day slavery” thrived.
The report found overcrowding could be traced back to many years of neglect. Over the last two decades, Kenya invested heavily in the creation of new districts, police stations and court buildings, the report said.
Yet over the same period, Kenya made little or no effort to expand or rehabilitate prisons. Dr Ludeki Chweya, the permanent secretary for the Vice President, admits the situation is dire.
Inmates slept on the concrete floor without blankets. Some even walked around naked with no uniforms to wear. “Prison was essentially just a warehouse for offenders,” Dr Chweya said.
But he insists things have changed. “Every prisoner has a mattress,” Dr Chweya says.Huge selection of gaga-deals for your garde, “You get two blankets, you get three pairs of clothing. I even distribute soap now and tissue paper. And from this year, I’m distributing shoes and sweaters, which never existed before.”
Never mind TV sets, which have started popping up in prison cells. While the service is making an effort to make the prisons more livable, the real goal is to have fewer prisoners in their care, Chweya said.
“We asked ourselves the question: ‘Do we have inmates who don’t have to be in prison? Are we trying to rehabilitate people who need not be in jail?’ We found the answer is ‘Yes,’” he said.
That’s where a new provision in the Constitution came in handy. Article 49 states that people suspected of crimes punishable by a fine or a sentence of less than six-months cannot be held in remand.chanel womenhandbags compact fluorescent light.
In a country where petty criminals make up the vast majority of inmates, this clause has a big impact, Dr Chweya said. And it was implemented immediately.
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