Government Set to Grant Early Release to 5,000+ Prisoners
At least 5,061 prisoners have a chance at early release after President William Ruto commuted the remainder of their sentences.
In Gazette Notice number 9565 dated Wednesday, July 19, Attorney General Justin Muturi stated that the first group to receive clemency consisted of misdemeanants serving sentences of six months or less in prison. This included 2,944 individuals.
The second group consisted of prisoners serving longer sentences who exhibited excellent behavior and had less than six months remaining. There were 2,117 individuals eligible for release.
“Upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Forces of the Republic of Kenya commuted the remainder of the respective sentences,” the notice stated.
The proposal to decongest prisons across the nation dates back to the administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta when former Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i announced in April 2022 that 5,000 prisoners would be released.
At the time, the Interior Ministry and The Kenya Prisons Services were responsible for implementing the program.
After assuming power in May 2023, Ruto ordered the relocation of several prisons within urban centers to make room for development.
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“To solve the problem of overcrowding in our prisons, we must free up land in urban centers for essential public services and provide more space for the prison population and raining facilities,” he stated at the time.
“The Interior and Public Works Cabinet Secretaries have been instructed to develop a Prisons Masterplan that will be used to identify and develop new prison sites.”
Since January, other leaders, including the first lady of Turkana County, Lilian Ekamasi, who asserted that the majority of offenders had reformed, have backed the initiative to free minor offenders.
As of November 21, 2022, the Attorney General overturned all death sentences imposed on capital offenders.
The directive was consistent with Article 133 of the Constitution of 2010, which grants the Head of State the authority to grant a free or conditional pardon to a convicted offender.
Government Set to Grant Early Release to 5,000+ Prisoners
