The Nairobi West Prison yesterday witnessed an overflow of joy and lots of entertainment as inmates to reunite with their families during their annual open day.
Dabbed as the remote parenting programme, the prisoners took a day off from their usual service to meet their relatives and friends and this time it was in the open and not through a glass window as it is normally the case.
According to the Nairobi Provincial Prisons Commandant Wanini Kireri, the event was organised during school holidays for inmates to get an opportunity to monitor the progress of their school-going children.
High Court Judge Fred Ochieng was also present at the event to answer questions from the inmates concerning their cases and also to educate them on their rights.
Addressing members of the press, the judge said that inmates could make appeals on their cases even after the lapse of the legally provided period as long as they make appropriate applications. He however added that as inmates their rights are limited in order to act as a derterent to crime.
“ Something like conjugal rights for inmates is not provided for in the constitution and I think it would not be appropriate to do that. Extending such privileges to prisoners will make imprisonment lose its meaning and encourage more people to commit offences so as to be imprisoned,” said Justice Ochieng.
Peter Otieno, who has only 12 days to the end of his sentence, was very happy to meet his family and said that he was ready to go back to society as a reformed man. Mr. Otieno was very appretiative of the love he received from his family while in prison and said that he nows sees life from a whole new angle.
David Ombati said that he has learnt new skills like carpentry and soap making which he will use to earn a living once he is set free, from February next year. Flanked by his wife Magreette and their two children, Mr. Ombati said that he has accepted salvation and he now preaches to former inmates.
Visitors were shown various projects run by prisoners in which they make furniture, juice and liquid detergents. Most of the projects are supported by the Resources Orinted Development Initiative (RODI-Kenya), an organisation with a presence in more than 26 prisons countrywide.
Other volunteers like Vickie wambura of Nafisika Trust have come up to offer emotional and psychological support to the inmates. She also trains them in basic literacy skills, computer literacy and performing arts. A gradute of Business Management, Ms wambura has fond a new passion in working with inmates and she said she is grateful to the authorities at Nairobi west Prison for according her the opportunity.
The inmates however feel that conjestion and delays in concluding their cases still remain to be great challenges. They also suggested that the remote parenting programme should be expanded to more than once a year, as it is the case at present, to give them more time to bond with their families.
Nairobi west prison has 477 inmates and by the end of the event, about 200 of them had received visitors.
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