5,000 petty offenders set to leave jail

More than 5,000 petty offenders are set to leave jail by the end of next month and engage in community work as part of efforts to decongest prisons.

High Court Judge Luka Kimaru, who is also the national chairman of the Community Service Orders (CSO), said that following a report, 5,787 offenders will be released from all prisons in the country between April and May 2018.

“These are basically petty offenders serving a sentence of three years and below or who were sentenced to a longer period but have a sentence of three years or less remaining,” Justice Kimaru said.

The exercise is being undertaken by CSO officers, probation and aftercare service officials, as well as those from the prisons and the Judiciary.

FAMILY
The highest number of petty offenders will be released from Nairobi (624), Eldoret (429), Mombasa (336), Kiambu (288), Nakuru (282), Machakos (269), Murang’a (204), Kisumu (204), and 199 from Kisii, Bomet and Trans Nzoia.

The counties and towns from which the lowest number will be released include Migori (49), Siaya (45), Tana River (44), Vihiga (40), Garissa (40), and Marsabit (26).

No petty offenders will be released from Taita-Taveta and Nyamira counties.

Once released, they will return to their homes. The programme also intends to ensure family unity continues as well as encourage integration and reconciliation with the offended community.

ARREST
The Criminal Justice System Audit Report published in 2017 estimated that every two years, more than four million people are arrested and detained.

Thirty-two per cent of these arrests are converted to charges in court.

However, 70 per cent of these charges are related to petty offences.
The CSO Act was enacted by Parliament in 1998 to address challenges in prisons, especially congestion.

The penal institutions currently have 55,000 prisoners against a capacity of 32,000.

The programme has greatly reduced the amount the government would have spent on the petty offenders had they been sent to prison.