Over 500 Maranjau prisoners usher in the New Year in style

Over 500 prisoners held at Maranjau prison in Maragua constituency ushered in the new year in style after political leaders organized a feast in the facility.

A week after the rest of the world celebrated the New Year, the prisoners had a once-in-a-lifetime experience on Sunday in a ceremony facilitated by area MP Mary Waithera with the support of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

The prisoners had a DJ play their favourite music after a church service attended by their family members and prison officers concluded.

The event, hailed as one of a kind in the facility, saw the prisoners, both convicts and remandees unwind with music and food, and mingling with their kin and kith.

They feasted on chunks of steak, chapati, pilau, beef stew and soft drinks before receiving a donation of brand-new mattresses and blankets.

The MP said the event was aimed at making the all-male prisoners feel like part of the society and inspire them to do better and resume their normal lives after completing their sentences.

“You are our brothers, fathers and uncles and I thought it was important to organize an event where we eat together and usher in the New Year before it got too old,” the MP said amidst cheers by the prisoners.

The prisoners, she said, create revenue for the government through the numerous courses they undertake including carpentry and horticulture.

She lauded the government for allowing families to visit their incarcerated members which she said invokes hope and reminds them of their societal responsibilities.

The MP took the chance to appeal to male members of the society to desist from engaging in sexual offences that she said have been on the rise in the area.

This followed a poem presented by the prisoners that appealed to society to stop stigmatizing ex-convicts once they are released from prison.

The prisoners also claimed that many men incarcerated after being accused of committing incest are framed by their families due to succession matters.

But the MP recounted several instances where elderly men were continuously defiling young girls in their families and leaving them with infections and trauma.

“As a man, you have so many options and need not target a girl. Allow girls to mature and live their lives fully,” she said.

She pledged to help construct 20 houses for prison wardens to ease congestion in their quarters, urging the management of the facility to ensure it works well with the surrounding community.

Three weeks ago, the MP held a security baraza in the neighbouring Kahuho area where residents had complained that three prison wardens were working with known criminals to peddle drugs in the area.

The three officers were said to be living at Kiambamba shopping centre among five other prison wardens.

“Make the locals feel proud that this institution is in their neighbourhood. This is a gazetted hardship area and I will push to have you get hardship allowances,” she assured them.

The MP also supported President William Ruto’s condemnation of the judiciary over corruption saying many prisoners are falsely jailed after their accusers bribe their way through the courts.

Assistant Commissioner General of Prisons Ali Athman hailed the ceremony and urged parents to take their parental roles seriously.

“Take this chance you have been given to meet your jailed children to help them fully reform and avoid becoming jailbirds."

Athman also challenged the prisoners to take their rehabilitation seriously and use the skills they acquire as the stepping stone towards financial independence once they’re released.