Uhuru sets free 7,000 petty crime prisoners

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday, October 20 set free 7,000 petty crime offenders.

During the Mashujaa Day celebrations at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos, President Kenyatta said that the move will help decongest the correctional facilities and create room for graft kingpins.

The Head of State ordered that the prisoners, who have been serving jail terms across the country, be released with immediate effect.

According to Article 133 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the President, on the petition of any person, may exercise a power of mercy in accordance with the advice of the Advisory Committee.

The Constitution says that the President can exercise the power of mercy by granting a free or conditional pardon to a person convicted of an offence; postponing the carrying out of a punishment, either for a specified or indefinite period; substituting a less severe form of punishment; or remitting all or part of a punishment.