Human rights abuses in Kenyan jails

by: Sam Mwangi

Africa: A human rights group has expressed concerned over the conditions in Kenya’s prisons.

According to Release Political Prisoners Pressure Group, the number of deaths among the inmates is increasing due to overcrowding, poor nutrition, and lack of medical services in most of the prisons. Amnesty International says that access to hospital treatment is also restricted as some prison officers refuse to take inmates to hospitals or do so when it is too late.

In March three inmates died in mysterious circumstances in different jails.
According to a report carried by the Daily Nation, a local newspaper, one of the inmates, Joseph Kiragu Munga, is said to have killed Misheck Gitau at Kamiti Maximum Prison. Release Political Prisoners has called upon prison authorities to provide security to all inmates and to work towards rehabilitating and correcting criminals.

Owuor Nimrod Ochieng, an inmate at the Industrial Area Remand Centre says that prisoners are subjected to physical violence, psychological torture and cruel punishment from prison wardens. In addition, inmates don’t have any privacy as most of the toilets and bathrooms lack doors.

In 2000 Amnesty International released a report on Kenyan prisons stating that 90 inmates die every month due to poor conditions, overcrowding, and disease. The Kenyan government promised to improve and reform the prison service.

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Source: Allafrica.com