The Government plans to establish a new correctional facility to confine extremist offenders which will deter them from spreading their radical believes to other offenders jailed for other crimes. Currently, extremist offenders are confined in the same prison facilities.
President Kenyatta while presiding over the passing out parade for over 2300 prison warders at the Prisons Staff Training College in Ruiru, Kiambu County, said the Government remained committed to containing offenders in conditions that enable rehabilitation to fit into society and make a positive contribution to their motherland.
The President acknowledged that reforming the character of a person was extraordinarily difficult, demanding compassion and skill in discerning the character of offenders and promised to improve the terms and conditions of service for all Prison personnel, so that the importance of their work is properly recognized and compensated.
He commended Prison officers for rising above the challenges they face to engage prisoners in formal education and vocational training programmes that hasten their reintegration to the community and announced the Government’s plans to tailor its budgetary allocation to the prisons to meet the changing operational and logistic requirements.
He called on all agencies in the criminal justice system and partners to intensify collaborations with the Kenya Prisons Service to develop common approaches to penal reform so as to attain the noble goals of character change.
The President lauded agencies and individuals who have supported the prisons in the rehabilitation of inmates through upgrading infrastructure and capacity building. He applauded Kenyatta University whose collaboration with the Prison Service has brought real and tangible reforms in the prison sector. The university has partnered with the Prisons in the developing the curriculum for the training of all cadres of prison staff.
Over 100 cadets comprising of professionals will graduate later in the year. These include doctors, teachers, veterinarians and ICT officers who are key in injecting professionalism into the rehabilitation programmes in the Prison service.