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Kenya to promote community rehabilitation to lighten prison burdens

Xinhua, January 13, 2017 Adjust font size:

Kenya plans to promote use of community rehabilitation for offenders in order to decongest prisons, an official said Thursday.

Mary Mbao, Acting Director of Probation and Aftercare Services in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, told a justice forum in Nairobi that there are currently about 30,000 people under the community rehabilitation program.

"We want to increase use of non-custodial sentences in order to reduce the pressure on prison's infrastructure," Mbao said.

Offenders who qualify for community rehabilitation are mostly those convicted of minor offences. The East African nation wants to promote use of alternative punishments for convicts so as to reduce prison population.

"Non-custodial sentences will also help the convicts to easily integrate into society," Mbao said.

Community rehabilitation occurs through the supervision by state-appointed probation officers who ensure that offenders would not commit other crimes.

The department said it also takes care of prisoners released via presidential pardon. "We assist them to re-integrate back to society by ensuring they are engaged in meaningful economic activities," he said. Endit