At least 5,061 prisoners stand a chance to secure early freedom after President William Ruto remitted their remaining sentences.
In a Gazette Notice number 9565 dated Wednesday, July 19, Attorney General Justin Muturi noted that the first lot to receive the clemency included petty offenders jailed to serve a six-month period or less. That included 2,944.
The other lot included prisoners serving a longer term that had exhibited good behaviour and was remaining with a six-month period or less. 2,117 individuals were eligible for the release.
"The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya, upon the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy, remitted the unexpired portion of the respective sentences," read the notice in part.
The plan to decongest prisons across the country emanates from former President Uhuru Kenyatta's regime where in April 2022, the then Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i noted that 5,000 prisoners were set for release.
The programme, at the time, was spearheaded by the Interior Ministry as well as The Kenya Prisons Services.
In May 2023, after Ruto took over the reins, he directed that some of the prisons within urban centers should be moved to free space for development.
"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," he stated at the time.
"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."
Since January, the move to free petty offenders had received support from other leaders including Turkana County First Lady Lilian Ekamasi who maintained that most of the offenders had reformed.
The Attorney General (AG) also reversed all death sentences imposed on capital offenders as on November 21, 2022.
The directive was in line with Article 133 of the 2010 Constitution, which also gives the Head of State powers to grant a free or conditional pardon to a person convicted of an offence.
