300 prisoners released in Meru

The Kenya Prisons Service on Friday released a total of 300 inmates from across three prisons in Meru County in a move to decongest its prisons.

According to the chief probation officer in the county, those released were petty offenders and aliens who were in the country illegally.

Women from Meru Main Prison were among the beneficiaries of the move after Meru High Court judge, Justice Luke Kimaru, issued an order to release all petty offenders so as to decongest the perennially congested prisons in the county.

The deputy officer in charge of prisons in Meru County, Alpanus Nzueni, had this message to the general public:

“Accept them they are reformed and we have the rehabilitation program of spiritual nourishment they are born again Christians who are ready to build the nation,” said Nzueni.

The released inmates will be serving a community service order sentences from their respective areas under the supervision of probation officers with an exception of the aliens who will be deported to their home countries.

They now walk home happy to reunite with their families and inhaling the good fresh air of freedom.

Meanwhile, the Meru County Commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga has announced that security has been beefed up ahead of the Christmas season.

He warned those who take advantage of the festivities to commit criminal activities that the law would take its course if anyone is arrested and they would serve as an example.

Nyagwanga, who was speaking during a security meeting with county administrators, said that it was important for the community to embrace Nyumba Kumi, an initiative introduced by the National Government.

He added that this is an easy way of noticing any suspicious activities or people within a neighborhood.

On the issue of the Meru -Borana conflict, Nyagwanga said that no illegal firearms have been surrendered to authorities in Meru since the expiry of an amnesty by Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery.

He urged pastoralists holding onto the guns to give them up and agree to peace talks.

At the same time, corrupt administrators allowing foreigners to acquire IDs have been warned.

Nyagwanga intimated that some chiefs and their assistants receive bribes so as to advise the registrar to endorse issuance on IDs to aliens.