Chief Justice Martha Koome has called for petty offenders serving prison terms of less than three months to be diverted from incarceration to community service or alternative sentencing.
Speaking during her inaugural visit to Garissa G.K. Prison on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, where 18 inmates were released to continue their sentences through Community Service Orders (CSOs), Koome stressed the need for a shift in how Kenya handles minor offences.
“The judiciary is committed to reviewing sentences and, where appropriate, releasing convicts of petty and minor offences to perform community service instead of serving time in incarceration,” she said.
The CJ emphasized that the judiciary, in partnership with Prisons and Correctional Services, is implementing a nationwide prison decongestion exercise. The initiative aims to restore dignity, enhance rehabilitation, and align inmate populations with available prison capacity.
“We are moving away from the old approach that focused solely on punishment where those who came into conflict with the law were seen as beyond redemption towards an approach that recognises the human potential in every person,” Koome explained.
She cautioned that overcrowding undermines the core purpose of correctional facilities. “Congestion severely undermines the prison’s ability to fulfil its core function—rehabilitation and the reformation of offenders. Overcrowded prisons are not conducive to humane living conditions, and without such conditions, the dignity of those incarcerated is compromised,” she added.
Koome also assured that children in conflict with the law would not be subjected to incarceration but instead redirected into rehabilitative programs. “Children belong in schools, not prisons. We must provide rehabilitative avenues that allow them to grow into law-abiding citizens,” she said.
Garissa Presiding Judge John Onyiego noted that prison visits and virtual hearings have eased congestion and accelerated case resolutions. Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Winfridah Mokaya added that reforms such as bail and bond guidelines, expanded CSOs, and collaboration under the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) are strengthening efforts to reduce overcrowding.
The judiciary said the reforms mark a long-term shift from punishment towards rehabilitation and reintegration, ensuring offenders are given opportunities to contribute positively to society.
