Ex-convicts deserve a second chance and should be given an opportunity to reintegrated back to the society.
This is according to Patrick Maringanyi, welfare officer at Kitengela G.K Prison.
Maringanyi said most of the former convicts are facing rejection when they try to rejoin the society after completing their jail term.
The officer, who is also a counseling psychologist and a pastor explained that society will most of the times remember the charges of the convicts but forget that they were under rehabilitation programmes while in prison.
"Those who have served long terms of more than five years in prison found everything has changed at their homes when they were released. Unfortunately, the last thing people remember when they return is when they were being sentenced,’’ Maringanyi said.
He said ex-prisoners who were sentenced for rape or defilement are the ones who go through rejection especially by their immediate family.
Some end up being stigmatised, isolated or called names that include rapists.
However, he said that government puts inmates in a programme to rehabilitate them.
The Kenya Prison Rehabilitation Programme (KPRP) is a programme that reform and rehabilitate all offenders.
The core function of the prison service is to rehabilitate prisoners and ensure their successful restoration into society. This people came to prison for a change, they came to be reformed; they come here to be rehabilitated," he said.
"When they are here, we help them gain training skills, counseling, spiritual help so that they can mingle freely with with the society when free."
President William Ruto has said government is planning to remodel the Kenya Prisons Service to strengthen its capacity to impart entrepreneurial skills to inmates.
Ruto said it was the duty of the service to mould convicts into productive members of the society.
"We are keen on supporting the correctional service to prepare inmates for eventual release and successful reintegration," Ruto said.
