ENHANCING PARTNERSHIPS TO UPHOLD DIGNITY, RIGHTS, AND WELFARE OF OFFENDERS
By Nicholas Kigondu
The State Department for Correctional Services has enhanced partnerships as part of ongoing reforms meant to uphold the dignity, rights, and welfare of offenders within the country’s correctional facilities.
Speaking during the commissioning and official opening of partner-supported facilities at the Embu Prison command, Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr. Salome Beacco said the department has shifted toward evidence-based rehabilitation with public-private partnerships at the heart of the reform agenda.
She said the mother and child unit at the Embu Women's Prison, whose first phase was commissioned on Friday, will ensure that children accompanying incarcerated mothers get proper care and attention and is a testament that public-private partnerships can be impactful.
Supported by Freedom from Within Kenya Foundation, the first phase of the project saw the PS commission a state-of-the-art ablution block at the women's facility, with the second phase, that will see the construction of a specialized mother-child unit at the facility, providing a safe, nurturing space for incarcerated mothers and their children.
She said that, once completed, the mother and child unit will provide a more nurturing environment for the children while providing their mothers with a favourable environment to undertake rehabilitation and vocational training.
While pledging her continued support, Freedom from Within Kenya Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mary Waceke, said the organisation remains committed to creating supportive environments for rehabilitation, especially among vulnerable populations.
Director of Operations at the Kenya Prisons Service Ali Athman said the project was proof that the country’s correctional system is shifting away from purely punitive incarceration models toward comprehensive rehabilitative approaches for better outcomes.
Earlier, the PS commissioned an Early Childhood Development centre at the Embu Prison command, constructed through the support of the Safaricom Foundation.
The project, comprising two fully equipped classes and a water, sanitation and hygiene facility, will be used by children of incarcerated mothers, children of staff as well as those from the neighbouring community.
The PS said the department is cognizant of the historical correlation between low literacy rates and recidivism and has now shifted toward evidence-based rehabilitation that prioritizes formal and vocational education for offenders and their dependents.
“Education is not only an equalizer but a tool that can help vulnerable communities become economically empowered,” she observed.
Monica Mwikali Munyasia, the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Education in Embu County, said the County administration is already supporting the facility with teachers as well as including the school in the Uji (porridge) School Feeding Programme.
According to Peter Njihia, Territory Business Lead for Safaricom in Embu County, the organisation remains committed to supporting the State Department in its reformation agenda, especially in the education sector.