The Power of Mercy Advisory Committee is collecting views across the country on whether 2,200 prisoners facing the hangman should get life sentences instead.
Speaking during a public participation forum at the Kenya School of Government in Kabarnet on Saturday, CEO Michael Kagika said Pomac got a presidential directive to collect views for eight months. The exercise started on May 2.
No one has been hanged in Kenya since 1987, when Hezekiah Ochuka was hanged for treason. Ochuka was one of the leaders of the 1982 coup attempt. He was condemned by a court martial. Reports indicate that between 1963 and 1987, 280 people out of 3,584 sentenced to death were executed.
Kagika said the prisoners facing the hangman were convicted of offences including murder, robbery with violence and treason.
“We will hold public participatory meetings and use the views to advise the President on what he should do with the growing number of criminals receiving death penalties,” he said.
The convicts are spread across Kamiti Maximum Security Prison (Nairobi), Shimo la Tewa (Mombasa), Lang’ata Women’s Prison, Naivasha Maximum Security Prison, Ngeria Prison (Eldoret) and Manyani Maximum Security Prison in the Coast.
Kagika said the constitution puts the government in a dilemma over whether it should hang criminals or give them life sentences. Church leaders, human rights activists, security agents, civil society and citizens have called for the scrapping of the death sentence.
“We suggest a life sentence be handed out instead,” Baringo human rights activist Kipruto Kimosop said.
Catechist George Abiero also opposed the death sentence.
