PAN-AFRICAN CONFERENCE ON COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS CONCLUDES IN NAIROBI

By Nicholas Kotikash

The Pan-African round table conference on community corrections concluded in Nairobi on Wednesday with participants presenting radical proposals they say will further enhance ongoing efforts to reform the country's correctional system. Dubbed, Advancing Community Corrections as an Alternative to Imprisonment in Africa, brought together correctional leaders and justice partners from across Africa and beyond, focused on strengthening non-custodial measures and community-based rehabilitation.

The two-day regional forum provided a platform for sharing experiences and best practices on probation systems, sentencing approaches and community corrections models aimed at reducing prison overcrowding and improving rehabilitation outcomes.

Closing the conference, Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr. Salome Beacco said the deliberations had forged practical commitments and partnerships expected to advance humane, effective and sustainable justice systems across the continent. She noted that the joint communiqué emerging from the forum would guide continued reforms on alternatives to incarceration.

Dr. Beacco observed that Kenya has made significant progress in promoting rehabilitation-focused justice through community supervision, diversion and reintegration programmes implemented in collaboration with criminal justice institutions. She said non-custodial measures have helped manage caseloads, safeguard human rights and enhance public safety.

Participants also presented country commitments and priority actions aimed at strengthening alternatives to imprisonment and improving reintegration outcomes.

The conference was organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC )and Penal Reform International (PRI) in partnership with the State Department for Correctional Services, with support from the United Kingdom, and brought together representatives from probation and correctional services, the judiciary and other criminal justice agencies across Africa.