An inmate at Kamiti Prison, Nairobi, became the first Kenyan prisoner to achieve a Diploma in Law which he obtained from the University of London; gaining attention from international bodies across the world.
Pete Ouko was covered by CNN after a Global Intiative Program, TEDx, set camp at the Prison to listen to his life story which had changed lives.
Mr Ouko, who was accused of killing his wife in 2001, said his conviction opened his eyes to a new world where young people had no hopes prompting him to take up Law through the African Prisons Project (APP), despite the tough conditions in the correctional facility.
“I achieved this despite initially being locked up 23 hours a day in a cramped death row cell with only 30 minutes, if at all, allowed outside. I had no tutorial support and there were detractors -- I even got my books late. But impediments did not make me lose hope,” he said in a speech at the event.
The man, whose two children will be graduating with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Law, spoke of how he founded an initiative to stop crime under a program called “Crime si Poa”. He also said he had been helping inmates with law appeals and court presentations over the years.
"Being the most qualified "lawyer" amongst 2000 inmates can be daunting but with the paralegal team, we are seeing a big success rate," he said.
The initiative, which aims to help rehabilitate inmates, has gained support from Non Governmental Organisations and it aims to roll out in all the 119 prisons in Kenya.
Watch Speech Courtesy of CNN:
[Video:]
