The Judiciary is initiating long term measures that will prevent unnecessary detention of un-convicted persons with an aim of decongestion of correctional facilities.
Chief Justice Martha Koome said the Judiciary has taken a lead in spearheading critical reforms in the criminal justice system to stem overcrowding in Kenya’s prisons, as part of efforts to foster proper rehabilitation of offenders.
Koome said the Judiciary will promote the use of Community Service Orders by reviewing sentences, and where appropriate, releasing convicts to perform community service instead of serving time in custody.
Additionally, the Judiciary is also streamlining the process for posting bail, bond and sureties to make it more efficient and expeditious, as well as transforming the correctional system into one that reflects the highest standards of justice and human dignity.
“We are keen on ensuring that the turn-around time in our registry processes do not delay approval of bail, bond and sureties. We will put in place measures to ensure support to accused persons to process their bail, bond, and sureties,” said Justice Koome.
She added “We have already established an interoperable system between the Judiciary with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, we are working to extend this integration to include other agencies, including the prisons”.
The second phase of the initiative will involve continuous review of sentences by Judges of the High Court until a sustainable prison population is achieved.
The CJ was speaking during the launch of the decongestion initiative for Nairobi Prisons at Nairobi Remand and Allocation Maximum Security Prison-Industrial Area that was attended by, Principal Secretary, Correctional Services Dr. Salome Beacco, Commissioner General of Prisons Patrick Aranduh, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Pasaris and Dagoretti North Member of Parliament Beatrice Elachi.
Koome observed that the prison facilities in Nairobi region alone host 9,458 inmates, of which 2,496 are convicts, and a staggering 4,962 are un-convicted persons awaiting trial, including civil debtors.
She added that the situation has deteriorated because some facilities such as Industrial Area Remand and Maximum Prison is operating at 200 percent of its capacity, which makes it host twice the number of inmates it was designed to accommodate.
“The Rapid Results Initiative is designed with the primary objective of achieving a sustainable prison population that aligns with the established capacity of our correctional facilities. The current state of our prisons is untenable,” CJ Koome said.
The Chief Justice pointed out that the first phase of the decongestion initiative focuses on reviewing the bail and bond terms of the un-convicted persons currently in remand within Nairobi region.
“This is being done based on the understanding that it is a fundamental principle of justice that un-convicted individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty,” stated Koome.
She added that it is unacceptable for un-convicted individuals to remain in custody because they cannot afford bail or bond, noting that the initiative of preventing unnecessary detention, will ensure that economic circumstances do not unjustly keep people in remand.
“The Bail and Bond Policy has been in operation for some years now, and we are committed to ensuring its uniform application across the country. Magistrates will be sensitized to maintain predictability and fairness in imposing bail and bond terms.” Koome said.
The Judiciary will ensure the conditions imposed on bail and bond are within reach for most accused persons, said the CJ, adding that congestion in correctional facilities severely undermines the ability of prison to fulfil their core function of rehabilitation and the reformation of offenders.
During the last financial year, 2023/2024, the courts reviewed 6,555 sentences. Out of these, 2,918 individuals were deemed suitable for release under community service orders.
The CJ explained that the Judiciary is also placing a strong emphasis on restorative justice as a means to foster social harmony within the community by promoting victim-offender reconciliation through mediation within prisons, we aim to facilitate the reintegration of released individuals into society.
“Another critical aspect of our criminal justice reform agenda is the strengthening of plea-bargaining processes within the criminal justice system. We aim to expedite trials, reduce the backlog of cases, and ensure that justice is expeditious,” said Koome.
She said the Judiciary will also provide rehabilitative avenues that allow children who find themselves in conflict with the law from the formal criminal justice system by allowing them to grow into law-abiding citizens since they belong in schools and not prisons.
The CJ said petty offenders should not be subjected to incarceration but should instead be diverted to community service or alternative sentencing options that enable them to contribute positively to society.
“For instance, prison sentences of less than three months should be replaced with offenders being assigned to community service projects instead,” CJ Koome said.
In her remarks, Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Winfridah Mokaya said it is imperative that all agencies work together to ensure prisons are not filled with offenders
By Bernadette Khaduli
