Chief Justice Martha Koome has underscored the importance of court systems collaborating with the alternative justice systems (AJS) committees to prioritise decongestion of prisons in the country by reviewing bail and bond terms.
CJ, who visited Isiolo G.K. Prison on Friday, announced the pardoning of 37 convicts who were set free after judicial officials reviewed their cases, bringing the tally to 540 nationally who have benefitted from the initiative.
Koome said three out of the 37 to be released at Isiolo GK prison, would be put under probation to serve their sentences on community services.
She, however, urged those released to be law-abiding and avoid committing offences lest they face the wrath of the law.
The chief Justice said that the judiciary officials would also review cases of those who are remanded, adding that AJS teams now have a mandate to determine those who can be set free and attend court sessions from their homes.
The Commissioner of Prisons, Patrick Mwiti Arandu, who had accompanied Justice Koome, said that the collaboration efforts to decongest the prisons had led to the release of 503 inmates this year.
Mr. Arandu said there was a need to simplify access to justice through AJS initiatives, adding that decongesting prisons would ensure promotion of humane treatment of offenders and streamlining the correctional facilities to do their rehabilitation work.
Civil society organisations lauded the incorporation of AJS in the judicial process as a tool that will help promote peace and offer justice to offenders and the offended alike in a readily implementable framework.
The Regional Coordinator of the ‘Pastoralists Peace Link,’ Ms. Abdia Mohamud, said that AJS also helps promote the localisation of dispute determination and the prevention of conflicts among the different communities living in the county.
Ms. Mohamud said that marginalised groups can now access formal justice in an affordable manner and in the context of their cultural backgrounds since AJS localises the process.
The National Treasurer of the Council of Elders, Sheikh Ahmed Set, said that the elders are proud of AJS, which has localised the justice systems while keeping up with the spirit of the constitution.
By David Nduro
