Depressed prison warden who found salvation in planting trees

“When I visited Mr Mukhoya on this very farm six year ago, I was looking for a place that could help me heal from depression,” reveals Mr Kassim.

The prison warden believes in the power of nature in healing wounds, and that is what drives his passion for environmental conservation. To him, there is more to tree planting than its commercial, medicinal and ornamental value.

“Trees or flowers can act as a constant reminder of an important milestone or chapter that one underwent in life,” he says.

One of the first trees he planted in 2016 on the seedling farm when he began the environmental conservation journey often reminds him of his past that he says played a major role in making him the person he is today.

When he joined the Kenya Prisons Service as a warden in 2011, the 24-year-old was looking forward to serving the government.

Start of depression

He had worked at the Kibos Maximum Security Prison in Kisumu for four years when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

As he recovered, he would be assigned duties that didn’t sit well with him.

"At the time, I was also married to my first wife, a fellow prison warden, and things were not well between us,” says Mr Kassim.

Often, his wife, who knew how much he was paid, would dictate how money was used in the house and how he spent the rest of his salary, and that led to frequent disagreements.

He admits that he frequently failed to settle the domestic disputes and he ended up being depressed.

He was often reprimanded for being rude and unprofessional, and was transferred to Homa Bay County.

Meanwhile, his wife was also transferred to Machakos, forcing the two to separate and they later divorced.

“She left with our firstborn daughter and decided to remarry at her new workstation.”

Things kept getting worse each day. Revenge was the only remedy he could think of, driving him to engage his seniors in Homa Bay in physical fights.

“My (weapons) were withdrawn as a precautionary measure while I was named among undisciplined officers. I was once again transferred to Kisumu to my present working station, Kodiaga Maximum Prison, where I began my recovery journey.”

The officers at his new station were more than understanding and helped him deal with his demons.

Love for trees

By then, he had made up his mind to rekindle his love of trees as a young boy.

In 1998, as a Standard Six pupil, Mr Kassim was a member of the Scouts movement and was often involved in a series of tree planting activities, including a campaign called ‘make your town green’.

With his friend and mentor, Mr Mukhoya, he started preparing tree seedlings on a small farm beside the new Kisumu Railway station.

The spot, he says, is important because any traveller or interested party can see the healthy tree seedlings from far.

“Our main aim was to donate the seedlings to different people and institutions,” says Mr Mukhoya.

He has accumulated over 2,000 different species of trees and flowers. These include ugandesis, hibiscus, pine, eucalyptus, 50 species of palm, kayaba and grafted fruit trees.

For the past six years, the two have donated and seen over 10,000 trees planted. Their target is to plant 2,000 trees every year.

"Since we began seedling planting, we have made donations to the Kisumu County government, including Nyamonye College, Kisumu, Emusoli ACK church, Ebusiabi ACK, and Esikuku PAG church, all in Vihiga County,” he told the Nation.

He recently received an honorary certificate from Nyamonge College for being an outstanding environmental green ambassador in Kisumu County.

The two friends often offer seedling planting and grafting guidance to young people, universities and others interested in environmental conservation.

Whenever he receives visitors, he considers it important to offer them seedlings, his new way of spreading love.

They are also planning to donate fruit seedlings for planting at the Mumias Cemetery.

"As Muslims, we believe that one of the greatest sacrifices one can ever make is donating fruit seedlings in a cemetery," says Mr Kassim.

To support his donations, he sells some of the seedlings to interested buyers who visit his farm.

Since he started planting trees, the warden has convinced his bosses that he has changed his behaviour, and his firearms were returned to him.

He is also a member of the prisons counselling unit, a job he says he enjoys doing.

“I can only advise other fellow officers not to seek revenge on others out of depression. Speak out, share your problems and find something engaging to do to overcome depression,” he says.

The father of two is now married to a new partner in a different profession.

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