Kenyans Decline Warder Invitation to Go to Prison: "Imejengwa Kwa Ajili Yenu"

 

A senior Kenya Prisons Service warder has gone viral on social media after extending an invite to Kenyans. A prison warder's invitation did not sit well with Kenyans.  What did warder tell Kenyans? In a video seen by Tuko.co.ke, the warder welcomed Kenyans to the prison, saying it was built to serve the nation. According to the warder, whereas prisons serve as instruments of correction, they were built on behalf of the Kenyan people.  "Yangu ni kusema tu karibuni. Prison ni yenu sio ya Prisons Service pekee yake. Ni ya wananchi wa Kenya. Imejengwa kwa niaba ya wanachi wa Kenya na pia imejengwa kwa sababu ya binadamu na wale wako ndani ya prison (Welcome to prison. It was built because of Kenyans citizens)," said the warder.  However, the warder's invite did not augur well with a section of netizens who laughed off the 'kind gesture'. fred_wheezy: "What a warm welcome." _mlunj.e: "Low-key Airbnb with strict rules." paultiptip: “No, were are not coming.” irene_minoh: “We have refused. We don’t want to be welcomed to prison.” wamwandu97: “We are not coming. You are saying the prison is ours?” zedani_jeff: "Like some Airbnb ad." clint_olewuantai: "Shindwee..." How many Kenyan men are imprisoned? The warder's invite comes under a month after Dorcas Gachagua disclosed that 58,000 men were serving sentences in Kenya. Dorcas warned that the high number of men getting into trouble with the law was alarming and could likely impact the country's future. The deputy president's wife called on the community to actively play a role in emancipating men from the shackles of crime. She lamented that the economic slowdown was a factor in mass incarceration and urged for more interventions to ensure the youth were productive nation-builders  However, according to a National Council on the Administration of Justice report for the Financial Year 2022-2023, Kenyan prisons held 35,557 convicted prisoners, of whom 33,787 were men. Women accounted for a paltry 1,770 convicts. 

by  William Osoro