Innocence in prison: Starting life in Kenya's correctional facilities

A first-time mother with no prior experience in raising children, Njeri was often confused and could not figure out how to take care of the two babies, especially when they cried at the same time.

‘It was very challenging, especially because it was the first time for me. Sometimes the babies would cry at the same time and I would get confused. I didn’t know what to do. Imagine you are not free at home but in prison,” Njeri told The Saturday Standard from prison.

She is however appreciative of the support she has received at the facility but wishes she was a mother doing that hallowed role away from secluded spaces within the high walls. Had she been out at home, she says, she would have got a helping hand from her siblings.

“ I was forced to find a way of coping with motherhood while here in prison,” Njeri said.

The situation is similar to approximately 229 other women in 44 female prisons across the country who have to take care of their children ranging between the ages on one day and four years.

Section 30 of the Prisons Act (Cap 90) and the Children’s Act of 2022 allow an infant child born to a female prisoner to remain with its mother in prison until the age of four years. That, according to the law, allows proper arrangements for child care to be made outside prison.

At the prison, The Standard team is treated to a warm welcome by Fairben Ombeva, the officer in charge. She is keen on the welfare of mothers and the children that are born at the correction facility.

“We carry out pregnancy tests on all the new inmates. That way we are able to monitor their progress. None of the women get pregnant while in prison,” Ms Ombeva said, adding:

“We also admit women with children below the age of four but we have to get their birth certificates to ascertain their age. It is very important that a mother bonds with their child in the early years and we make that provision”.

She walks us to the maternity unit located within the facility. The unit was constructed by a well wisher and the beds therein are donned in pink bed covers. The floors are clean and the room feels warm and calming.

Seven mothers are nursing their newborn babies at the unit.

Besides the building that hosts the mothers wing stands a clinic that provides pre- and post-natal care which includes vaccination services. When women who are expectant get bogged by illnesses or babies get infected, prison authorities take them to Mbagathi or Kenyatta National Hospital. 

There is a daycare facility located a few meters from the prison dormitories. The facility is more than just a place to pass time. It is space where children, some too young to understand prison life, can experience moments of normalcy.

Daily budgets

When The Standard team visited, seventeen children of ages between one and four years were singing happily. Sergeant Joyce Chepkirui, the officer in charge of the children at the prison, donned in her green uniform, was leading some games of football with the children.

Chepkirui has been working with children accompanying their mothers to prison for over 20 years now.

She has seen a lot of changes in the children’s caregiving.

‘”Before, we used to gather the children in one of the dormitories and play from there. Right now, I am so happy that we have a well-equipped day-care centre. We also used to use torn bed sheets as diapers but now we have real diapers, which is very good,” she says.

Chepkirui says the prison has also opened doors for donors to send in their help, which is diifferent from before when authorities did not allow such help.

“Back in the day, we would not receive any donations,” she says.

We stay around the prison and get through the women’s lunch time.  Some of the inmates attached to the duties around the daycare are serving food.

It is a meal of ugali and sukumawiki which is what the adult inmates are served. Later they are given a glass of milk. The milk was part of a donation that they received from well wishers.

Despite the strides taken to ensure children accompanying their mothers thrive in this space, the challenges are still many.

‘”We need separate accommodation for the inmates with children, most times these children are exposed to so much in the dormitories” says Ombeva.

Chepkirui adds that nutrition is also a big factor since the children feed on what the adult inmates are fed, something she really hopes can change and hopefully get alternative nutritious meals to feed the children at the day-care facility.

Jane Kirii, the Deputy Commissioner General of Prisons, cites the process of re-integration of the children to the society as a challenge, since the children spend their formative years in the facility. Kirii hopes that there can be a better way of managing the transition.

She says that children who accompany their mothers to prison and those born in prison are catered for in the daily budgets but more still needs to be done to ensure that the children grow holistically in their formative years.