Rising number of repeat offenders worries state
A religious leader conducts a service for inmates at Kodiaga prison in Kisumu County in 2014. There are about 1,500 probation officers in Kenya.
The increasing number of arrests and killings of suspected habitual robbers has lifted the lid on the rising rate of recidivism, putting the Judiciary, Prisons and Probation and After Care Service departments on the spot.
The spate of robberies attributed to repeat offenders has also exposed the need for effective rehabilitation of ex-convicts.
Experts blame negative peer association, lifestyle instability and joblessness for recidivism, arguing that the country needs better rehabilitation strategies.
A case in point is the disappearance and killing of Brian Oduor, whose body was found in Kinale forest, Kiambu County, two years ago.
Police said Oduor was a member of an armed gang and had a pending case in Mombasa.
Another is that of Daniel Gucoma Ndutire, who was killed in a gangland-style shooting on Thika Road in June 2021.
Police said he had a robbery with violence case and had jumped bond granted by Makadara law courts.
An arrest warrant against Ndutire was in force at the time of his death.
Ndutire was shot at 24 times by two men on a motorcycle as he took a turn on Thika Superhighway in Ruiru.
Police said Ndutire was the leader of a gang that shot a woman in Eastleigh earlier in the month and that the group was terrorising businesspeople in the capital city.
Prison service blamed
Nairobi-based advocate Shadrack Wambui says the high rate of recidivism can be blamed on the lack of proper means in the prison service to prepare offenders serving terms for what awaits them upon release.
He says the problem of repeat offenders cannot be blamed on the Judiciary.
“The many inmates I have interacted with appear unprepared to tackle life outside prison. Times are tough economically, even for communities who find it difficult to accommodate former prisoners,” Mr Wambui says, adding that reducing recidivism will ultimately improve public safety.
According to the lawyer, society owes ex-convicts support so as to stop them from going back to crime and reduce anger or aggression.
“Society and the prison service must reflect very deeply on their roles in rehabilitating the inmates,” he said.
A former prisoner reportedly captured on security cameras violently robbing a tourist in Nairobi was identified last month.
Peter Waithaka “Gikuyu” served a six-year prison sentence for another robbery.
In the recent case, he was arrested at his hideout in Kaloleni estate, Nairobi. CCTV footage showed him robbing a tourist on Ngong Road.
His victim died while being treated for a gunshot wound at a city hospital.
Investigators link Waithaka to a spate of robbery with violence and murder incidents by criminals on motorbikes.
Police in Nyeri are looking for a suspected habitual offender who jumped a Sh1 million bail in a robbery with violence case three years ago.
Jumped bail
It is the second time Joseph Kang’ethe has jumped bail and vanished.
In 2016, he was rearrested after jumping bail in a robbery with violence case and the killing of a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer in 2009.
Kang’ethe had been charged with the crime alongside John Ndegwa, who is serving a life sentence.
According to the prosecution, Kang’ethe, Ndegwa and others were involved in a robbery at Othaya Approved School while armed with an AK47 rifle, pistol and other weapons on June 13, 2009.
During the robbery, they killed Othaya DCI boss Jonah Kimanzi Nzau.
The officer was known for fearlessly fighting Mungiki criminals in Nyeri County, especially in Othaya where the group was terrorising locals.
He tracked criminals even to their homes and apprehended them.
Last month, police in Kilimani, Nairobi, arrested a man they describe as a habitual offender after he was captured on security cameras committing a crime.
The officers say the suspect is linked to a series of robberies within the city.
The man, a former prisoner, took police officers to his house where several shoes, clothes and other exhibits were reportedly found. He has already been arraigned for robbery.
In Nakuru, a former inmate escaped after sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy whose mother had given him shelter.
The man, who is still at large, had told the woman that he was evicted from his house for failing to pay rent.
Sexual assault
According to police, he laced the teenager’s tea with an unknown drug before sexually assaulting him.
The man had completed a 20-year term at the Nakuru Prison in September last year for defilement.
Lamu police shot and killed a 25-year-old former prisoner who is said to have confronted them with a knife and a toy pistol.
Police and locals say he had been released from prison but committed a robbery at Gadeni estate in Lamu island, taking off with an unknown amount of money.
Police arrived at the scene of the crime but the former prisoner drew a knife and threatened to stab them.
A man caught on camera shooting a shopper in Kasarani, Nairobi, two years ago was also identified as an ex-inmate.
According to police, the man completed his term at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison.
The government last year raised concerns following the high levels of recidivism and announced plans to reach out to religious leaders and faith-based organisations to complement prisoner integration efforts.
There are about 1,500 probation officers in Kenya
“Second, third and fourth-time offenders are evidence that our after-care work is not successful. The character of success in this work will be demonstrated by a reduction of repeat offenders and how active the after-care members become in their societies,” former Interior Cabinet Minister Fred Matiang’i said.
