32 prisoners receive gift of freedom on Valentine’s Day
By KNA, February 16, 2023Thirty-two inmates at the Eldoret male and female GK prison celebrated Valentine’s Day with tears of joy after a group of well-wishers secured their freedom by clearing their fines.
Fourteen women and 18 men, who had been jailed for failing to raise fines for committing petty offences, got a reprieve after the fines were cleared by Rupa Business Centre and other partners to commemorate Valentine’s Day.
The well-wishers, who included students of Moi University, Grand Royal Medical care and a group of dentists, presented flowers to the inmates at Eldoret Women Prison.
Speaking at the event, the officer in charge Eunice Odhiambo appreciated the gesture saying it was part of rehabilitation and reintegrating the inmates back to the society and decongesting prisons. She said strict criteria was followed before the inmates were released.
“We looked at those who have reformed to a large extent and whose remaining time was short. I wish to assure the community and families of the inmates that those released will be useful to society as we have equipped them with adequate skills,” she said.
Eldoret High Court judge Reuben Nyakundi rooted for mediation to address petty offences.
Justice Nyakundi said mediation and restorative justice at community level should be encouraged for non-serious offences as this would go a long way towards conflict settlement and promoting relationships between the offender and the offended at the family and community level.
“Quite a number of people we have in prison are first time offenders whose offences could have been handled at the community level through customary mechanisms because our customs have a way of dealing with crime at the local level. This way we would prevent the offenders from ever repeating such an offence because they would have been shamed at the community,” Justice Nyakundi said.
—KNA