The government has welcomed increased collaboration between the public and private sectors to improve infrastructure and enhance the welfare of inmates and correctional officers in the country’s prisons.
Correctional Services PS Salome Beacco said public-private partnerships would enable the Kenya Prisons Service to accelerate reforms and address infrastructure challenges facing correctional facilities nationwide.
Beacco spoke at Embu Women’s Prison after launching the construction of a specialised Mother and Child accommodation unit, a Sh9 million project being undertaken in partnership with FreedomWithin Kenya.
The facility, expected to be the first purpose-built accommodation unit of its kind in a Kenyan prison, will cater to incarcerated mothers and their children under four years of age.
“We appreciate FreedomWithin Kenya and its partners for supporting projects that improve the welfare of incarcerated mothers and their children,” Beacco said.
“Not only have you restored hope, health, safety, hygiene and dignity to children, but you have provided their mothers with a more conducive environment to undertake rehabilitation and vocational training.”
She said partnerships with organisations willing to invest in correctional facilities would complement government efforts to modernise prison infrastructure and improve conditions under which inmates undergo rehabilitation.
The PS said the government was committed to ensuring prisons serve not only as places of confinement but also as centres for rehabilitation, skills development and preparation for reintegration into society.
The Embu project is specifically designed to address the unique needs of children living with incarcerated mothers.
Despite not being offenders, these children spend their early years within correctional facilities due to their mothers’ circumstances.
FreedomWithin Kenya patron Mary Waceke Thongoh-Muia called for more partnerships between government, corporates, foundations, professional organisations, communities and individual well-wishers to improve the welfare of children living in prisons.
“The prison environment was never designed with an infant or young child in mind. Our responsibility as citizens and well-wishers is to ensure where children must live alongside their mothers, their basic needs for safety, hygiene, nutrition, play, learning and nurturing are not overlooked,” she said.
Beacco also commissioned a newly completed ablution block at the facility, constructed by FreedomWithin Kenya for Sh4 million.
The project received seed funding from the Napier Fellowship USA, awarded to FreedomWithin Kenya co-founder Shakinar Mutulili, while Triad Architects provided architectural and project management services free of charge.
The Mother and Child unit has also received contributions from family members, friends and the Triad Foundation, with Triad Architects offering free architectural and technical support.
Meanwhile, the Kenya Prisons Service is providing institutional leadership, site access and technical guidance to ensure the project is implemented in accordance with correctional environment requirements.
The Embu facility is expected to serve as a model that can be replicated in other correctional institutions, with the organisation eyeing similar interventions across Kenya’s 46 prisons.
FreedomWithin Kenya’s journey began in 2018 when Shakinar Mutulili and her sister, Naikena, then teenagers, began mobilising their peers to support children living alongside incarcerated mothers through food and nappy drives.
The partnership comes as the government undertakes broader reforms aimed at improving infrastructure and welfare within correctional services.
Barely two weeks ago, Beacco said the government had commenced the construction of housing for correctional officers following recommendations by a presidential task force.
She said the third phase of salary increments for correctional officers had been implemented in July, with housing identified as another critical component of officer welfare.
Beacco spoke at Garissa Medium Prison during the state department’s monthly tree-planting programme.
She said the government is targeting the construction of at least 28,000 houses for correctional officers in the long term.
Several staff houses have already been constructed in Ruiru, Thika, the Coast region, and Vihiga, benefiting officers serving under both the Kenya Prisons Service and the Probation and Aftercare Service.
The next phase of the housing programme is expected to target at least 3,000 additional houses during the current financial year.
The government has also constructed houses for officers working under the Probation and Aftercare Service as part of efforts to improve working conditions and boost morale.
The latest partnership at Embu adds to the government’s broader push to modernise correctional services, with Beacco maintaining that collaboration with private organisations and other stakeholders will be critical in speeding up improvements in prison infrastructure and staff welfare.
