Female inmates appeal for conjugal rights as parliamentary watchdog calls for amendments to the Sexual Offences Act

A parliamentary watchdog has expressed concern over the high number of sexual offenders languishing behind bars.

The Constitutional Implementation and Oversight Committee noted that the Sexual Offences Act is punitive and should be reviewed.

Speaking after a tour of correctional facilities across Kisumu County, committee chairman Mr. Bernard Kitur observed that the penal section has led to young men being sentenced to lengthy prison terms, thereby condemning them.

Kitur took issue with the Act, noting that it was introduced into the country’s statutes through activism. He said the law has led to hundreds of young people, including teenagers, filling prisons across the country.

The Nandi Hills MP said his committee will marshal Members of Parliament with a view to making amendments to the Act.

Kitur also took issue with double sentencing of inmates, noting that it serves no purpose once a convict has completed their prison term.

The MP noted that prisons designed to accommodate 800 inmates end up catering for 2,300 due to petty offenders and long-term convicts.

He, however, said the government is committed to improving prisons, especially regarding the welfare of prison warders.

Kitur said plans are underway to construct 200 housing units for warders to make their living conditions better.

He also noted that the Social Health Authority (SHA) is not yet fully operational in prisons. Kitur said health is a universal right and inmates must be factored in.

He added that a number of inmates cannot access SHA because they do not have national identification cards. “Some of them either do not have IDs or are deliberately hiding them,” he said.

Mr. Geoffrey Mulanya, a committee member and MP for Nambale Constituency, also said the penal code still has grey areas.

Mulanya noted that courts continue sentencing people to death, after which the sentence is later commuted to life imprisonment.

He wondered why petty offenders should be sent to prison when they could be subjected to community service as a means of decongesting prisons.

The committee lauded the Chandaria Group of Companies for initiating a number of projects at the women’s prison in Kisumu.

Female inmates serving long sentences said they should be allowed conjugal rights before they reach menopause.

Their male counterparts said they should be allowed to bury their departed loved ones through special arrangements.