NCJ Number
83982
Date Published
1981
Length
315 pages
Annotation
The text traces the evolution of Kenyan correctional policies from the colonial and postcolonial years, and assesses current programs' effectiveness in preparing ex-offenders for reentry into society. The study, based on interviews and field visits to numerous correctional facilities, has implications for other sub-Saharan African countries.
Abstract
Kenya's transplanted criminal justice system, based on English common law and adapted to the exigencies of colonial administration, conflicts with indigenous traditions that value redress to the victim and societal reconciliation. The perpetuation of alien forms of justice into the postcolonial period has hindered rather than facilitated crime control. Reforms are likely to be gradual, but their goals should be greater community involvement in crime prevention programs, closer ties between convicted offenders and their tribal and kinship support groups, greater use of economic sanctions, shorter sentences, and more noncustodial and semicustodial sentences. The book covers the English influence on the establishment of Kenya's penal system, the growth of the Prisons Service during the Mau Mau Emergency, governance of the system, its sanctions (corporal and capital punishment and alternatives), and types of institutions from maximum security prisons to borstal (juvenile) training schools. Inmate characteristics; discipline, labor, training, and welfare issues; and inmate-staff relations are discussed. The efficacy of imprisonment is assessed in terms of incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, and rehabilitation. Prospects for strengthening the Kenyan system are weighed with respect to the political climate and ethnic conflicts. Tables and charts illustrate statistics on corrections, inmates, and sentencing. Maps, footnotes, an index, and 96 references are presented.