INTERIOR CS REITERATES GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT TO CORRECTIONAL REFORMS

By Nicholas Kigondu

The government has prioritized reforms targeting correctional services including staff welfare as well as revamping, mechanizing and modernizing farm and Prison industries.

Speaking on Tuesday during a meeting with senior staff drawn from the State Department for Correctional Services, Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the efforts are aligned with the Kenya Kwanza administration’s development agenda.

According to the CS, the focus will be centered on developing strategies to effectively implement the department’s priorities meant to transform correctional facilities into environments that prioritize economic viability, skill development and rehabilitation.

The strategy will include the implementation of Presidential Directives on freeing up prison land in select towns for the Affordable Housing Programme, fast-tracking the utilization of underutilized prison land to boost food production, enhanced commercialization of prison industries, construction of institutional houses for officers, and the completion of stalled and ongoing projects.

State Department for Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr. Salome Beacco says the department has put in place elaborate measures geared toward the realization of envisaged reforms including adoption of new technologies, legal and policy reforms, infrastructure development and enhancement of human resource capacity.

Present during the meeting was Commissioner General of Prisons Patrick Aranduh and acting Probation and Aftercare Service Secretary Shadrack Kavutai.