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{
    "id": 590027,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/590027/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 321,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "In the past, we used to see prisoners being taken around cleaning the City. However, I no longer see that. Somebody would be sentenced because they were found drunk. There were funny cases where a police officer could ask somebody: “Unatokawapi na unaenda wapi?” Before you could even answer, they took you to prison. The following day, you were accused of loitering yet you were on your way home. The person would become more a hardcore criminal after being released from remand. For some of us who used to do outreach programmes, it was very interesting when we met prisoners. Some of them would tell you what other prisoners had told them. The moment they were released from prison, they would perform duties for the hardcore criminals because they would send them to do certain things. That is how they kept in touch with other criminals, understood other types of criminal activities and ended up joining gangs. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Committee should give a report on the number of prisoners we have in this country. I even doubt whether the Government can give the data on our prisoners. As much as we claim to be “digital”, we are still “analogue” because we still have Occurrence Books (OBs) being used by the police. If we want to help Kenyans who have gone through all this, it is important to have data that will help us understand why a certain prison has certain criminals and what they did. We should know that the courts are unable to fast-track and clear petty crimes that are there. This is something that should go beyond not just prisons but also the courts. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is a case that has been going on for three years. It is about a driver who knocked down a lady and she died. The case is being handled at the Makadara Law Courts. The most interesting thing is that the lawyers have framed issues because they know that if three years elapse, the case will be terminated. Since the husband to the deceased is not a Kenyan citizen, he decided to put the property under his wife’s name because she was a Kenyan. By bad luck, the wife died. He has been going to court for the past three years and the case has never ended. They will tell him that three years are about to elapse and according to law, he cannot claim anything. That is very interesting and the driver is also in prison. He has been remanded for all that time. Looking at what is happening, you may wonder whether we are still in the old days. It is something that I hope that the Chief Justice (CJ) will look into because, of late, he has been very active. He knows that there are issues in the Judiciary. He should ensure that such cases are dealt with. As the Senate, we hope that the Committee will bring out the revelations that people have never heard about. I am sure that stories that Kenyans do not know or understand will come up. They will be very surprised by what happens in prisons, since they think that prisoners are being corrected in prisons. The problem in our country is that people will want to create business in everything. As much as my Senator says that we need to build the 47 prisons, it is scary because businessmen will be happy. However, in some counties, that might be a curse. I remember one time going to Pokot. The Senator is here to attest to that. If you talked of prisons in Pokot, they would ask you if you want their children to be criminals. To them, prisons are a curse. Therefore, some communities are not happy about the issue of prisons being established. However, other communities will be okay with that because The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}