Details have emerged of the sorry state of
prison facilities with inmates exposed to harsh
weather over leaky roofs.
A new report has exposed the dilapidation in
four major prisons even as renovation works
in others have stalled.
A review by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu spotted the problem at Kitengela Main,
Nairobi Remand, Thika Main and Kwale Main
prisons.
At Nairobi Remand, the roof of the prison wards was leaking with water seeping
through to the floor.
Auditors established that the roofing sheets
were old and rusty, exposing the inmates to
the harsh vagaries of weather.
This was besides the limited number of
CCTV cameras in place to monitor activities
and movement in the prison.
At Kitengela, inmates are at the risk of food
poisoning following a leakage at the main and
food ration stores.
The ceiling boards in the store had fallen off
due to leakage and the facility had worn out floors due to lack of repairs and maintenance.
“There is a possibility of contamination of the
stored food items due to contact with rainwater
from the leaking roof,” the report reads.
A gaping hole which followed a partial roof
collapse at the mixed block of the Kwale Main
Prison, was yet to be fixed at the time of the
audit.
The roof collapsed in November 2021, begging the question why it has taken the Correctional Services department this long to fix it.
Thika Main Prison also suffered from a
leaking roof besides the cramped and poorly
ventilated office spaces.
Albeit not affecting prisoners directly, the
dilapidation was also flagged at the Prisons
Staff Training College.
The store buildings at PSTC were in a state of disrepair, with cracked floors, broken pavements and worn out surfaces due to heavy foot
traffic.
Auditors established that most premises at
the college were inadequately maintained, putting the managers on the spot.
In what could make the matters worse, no
funds were allocated for maintenance of buildings in the June 30, 2024 spending year.
“In
the circumstances, the existing conditions may
significantly hinder the effective delivery of correctional services to the public,” Gathungu said.
As the situation persists, auditors established
that works to the tune of Sh570 million to
correct some of the defects have stalled.
Taxpayers stare at losing more than Sh228
million that has been paid for the works with
no significant progress reported so far.
