Homa Bay G.K Prison has only one vehicle serving seven courts, a report of Auditor General Nancy Gathungu for the year ended June 20, 2022, shows.
The report said the prison has on several occasions failed to produce offenders to various courts within Homa Bay County as and when required to do so because of lack of vehicles.
“In the circumstances, failure to produce offenders in court frustrates the fair administration of justice and denies the offenders their constitutional rights to defend themselves in court,” Gathungu said.
Gathungu further cited the State Department for Correctional Services for poor sanitation and lack of water at Migori GK Prison.
The report said the main source of water for the facility is a seasonal unprotected well situated within the institution and roof catchment with storage reservoirs.
An audit verification carried out in October, 2022 revealed that, Migori GK Prison is holding approximately 700 inmates and 230 members of staff.
“Reports of June 17, 2022 and of March 2, 2022 by Public Health and NEMA inspectors respectively indicates that the available source of water for drinking and general use was noncompliant with national standards for safety,”Gathungu said.
She said inmates, staff and the community are exposed to contagious and other water borne diseases.
Gathungu also highlighted poor construction of a perimeter wall at the Busia G.K Prison.
She noted that during the year under review, the State Department entered into a contract for the construction of a perimeter wall at Busia G.K Prison at a contract sum of Sh20,549,887.
She said counterfort walls had not been done to provide lateral support when the contractor handed over the project.
Gathungu further said audit inspection conducted in September, 2022 revealed that Nairobi Medium Security Prison has inadequate office accommodation for staff.
She said the Prison has three office rooms utilised by the Officer in Charge (OIC), general office and accounts office.
“It was also observed that the floors to the prisoners’ wards are dilapidated with rough floors, potholes, dirty marks on the walls with some sections of the roof leaking when it rains,” she said.