The government has expressed commitment to reintegrating petty offenders into society by committing to hire one thousand probation officers.
Speaking on Thursday during the induction of 600 newly hired probation officers at the Kenya School of Government, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i said the government plans to hire 400 more officers.
"Our focus is the reintegration of offenders into society. You know the second time, third time and fourth time offenders are evidence that our aftercare work is not successful," Matiang'i said.
The CS said successful reintegration of offenders into society will be demonstrated by a reduction of repeat offenders.
He expressed optimism that with the hire of the new probation officers, the rate of repeat offenders will reduce drastically.
"This is the first time in the history of our country we have had that number of probation officers since independence."
Matiang'i commended the Judicial Service Commission and the Judiciary under Chief Justice Martha Koome for integrating community service into the justice system.
"Let the Chief Justice know that we are ready and prepared to support that drive jointly with the Office of the Public Prosecutor because that is how we are going to decongest our prisons."
Matiang'i said it doesn't make economic sense to continue keeping some offenders in prisons for fines as low as Sh600 for a traffic offence.
"We don't have the resources to keep the number of offenders that we have. We are keeping some matatu violator for parking on the yellow line, are we serious honestly," Matiang'i posed.
Officers from the judiciary, including judges, were present during the induction.
Matiang'i said he is hopeful that over 5000 petty offenders will be released from prison in the next phase of decongestion between May and June and integrate into the community service programme.
"We will succeed because we will have 1000 probation officers," Matiang'i said.
He said the Interior Ministry will also reach out to social sector agencies like faith-based leadership to provide volunteer probation officers to support the integration programme.
Chiefs and county commissioners will also be pooled in as part of building successful collaboration networks to back up the probation officers.
The CS also said he will persuade the European Ambassador to source some funds to support the programme.
"That way then, we will be able to cover a wider section of society," Matiang'i said.
In 2018, the Network of African National Human Rights (NANHRI) Institutions decried congestion in Kenyan prisons owing to frequent arrests and jailing of minor offenders.
The lobby said fines and short period jail terms imposed on the poor over petty offences were discriminatory.
The jamming of prison cells with thousands of pre-trial detainees and petty offenders in congested jails holding hardcore criminals also raised fears that the majority are walking out of prison worse off, defeating the concept of rehabilitation.
Kenyan prisons have a capacity of 26,757, but Data from the Prisons Department at one point in 2015 put the number of inmates at over 54,000.
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