President William Ruto wants prisons moved out of major cities and towns in Kenya. The plan is intended to make land available to expand public services and reduce overcrowding in prison facilities.
New prison sites are to be identified in a new masterplan, and developed. Prisons currently occupy prime land in various Kenyan cities and towns, and have been a target for government agencies including county governments as well as developers keen on expansion.
Speaking during the Prisons Service Training College pass-out parade, President Ruto stated; “To solve the problem of overcrowding in our prisons, free up land in urban centres for critical public services and provide more space to accommodate prison population and raining facilities,”
“The Cabinet Secretaries responsible for Interior and Public Works have been instructed to urgently develop a Prisons Masterplan which will be used to identify and develop new prison sites,” with Interior CS Kithure Kindiki and his Public Works counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen to steer the plan.
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Plans to move prisons out of cities and towns had been supported by the previous administration. Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i in 2021 proposed that Kamiti Maximum Prison and the Langa’ta Women’s Prison be moved from Nairobi.
Speaking during the launch of the National Land Commission’s 2021/2026 strategic plan on Friday in Nairobi, Matiang’i recommended that the correctional facilities be moved to Bomet or Kitale.
He further stated that the government should also consider relocating Industrial Area Prison, Nairobi West Prison and Shimo La Tewa from cities.
“Why should we have prisons in the middle of the city when we could use that prime land to develop and increase amenities of the city? ” he posed.
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