The graduate Prisoners serving their sentences at Kericho medium prison are mentoring their fellow inmates who are pursuing their primary and secondary school educations while incarcerated.
According to Senior Superintendent of Prisons (SSP) Lennar Chepkirui Chepkwony, who doubles as the Principal of the Prison High school, prison officials have identified two inmates with Bachelor’s degrees and assigned them the responsibility of preparing the prisoners for their KCPE national examinations as well as teaching them various subjects in the secondary KCSE syllabus.
She disclosed that the correctional facility opened the prison secondary school on April 27, 2022, with 13 detainees in their Form One class, while the prison primary school has 19 students preparing for their KCPE national examinations.
“The two graduate inmates are remorseful for the crimes they committed, and if possible, we would like for them to return to their teaching professions; this would bring us great joy. They are instructing prisoners who have enrolled in secondary school as well as those who are preparing to take their KCPE examinations in December of this year.
They are teaching alongside our qualified prison officers, some of whom hold university degrees, while others are PI teachers who know exactly what is expected of them because they have service programs and up-to-date lesson plans, according to Chepkirui.
The principal of the prison school added that education is an effective form of rehabilitation for detainees because it enables them to change their lives and become better members of their communities.
“Education is an essential instrument for prisoners’ rehabilitation and reformation, as it can alter their behavior and character regardless of their offenses. It facilitates the metamorphosis of graduate inmates into better members of their communities, as Chekirui explained.
She noted that 13 inmates are presently enrolled in Form One at the penal secondary school, while 19 others are preparing to take the KCPE exam at the prison primary school.
The Principal appealed to well-wishers and people of goodwill for assistance with books and writing materials necessary for seamless operations at the prison secondary school, as well as funds to build a Form Two class for next year’s incoming students.
In January of this year, Joshua Ondengo, 26, a 2019 graduate of Rongo University with a Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and Physics, was sentenced to two years in prison for the crime of obtaining by false pretense.
Ondengo stated that he teaches mathematics and physics at the secondary school in the institution.
Once bitten, twice timid, so I am now more future-focused. On January 18, 2023, I was sentenced, and I accepted my fate. I cannot refute the offense because I purchased a stolen phone, for which I am sorry. I am aware that my two-year prison sentence will alter my previous lifestyle, in which I disregarded God and embraced other ideologies, which placed me in jail. I am currently instructing my fellow detainees who are pursuing a secondary education in mathematics and physics because I majored in these subjects and enjoyed them. Once I am released from prison, it is my hope to establish my own farming enterprise, he said.
Philemon Sigei, 28, a graduate of the Kenyatta University class of 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Education majoring in Physics and mathematics, was sentenced to serve two years in prison for the crime of swim swapping in April of this year after failing to pay a Sh80,000 fine. He teaches History and Kiswahili at the prison’s secondary school.
“Because of my conviction, I’ve realized that I should adopt self-discipline, and I’ve realized that I’ve wasted my time. Sigei stated, “I am currently teaching Kiswahili and history to inmates enrolled in the secondary school here, but I am eager to pursue my master’s degree once I am released from prison.”
On the other hand, prison-trained teacher Kenneth Langat, who is also a prison officer, stated that the inmates are well-prepared for the KCPE national examinations and that those enrolled in secondary school do not miss their daily lessons, and that he teaches Kiswahili and History to both primary and secondary students.
A prisoner serving a three-year sentence for possession of illegal alcoholic beverages scored 318 on his KCPE last year but was released upon completion of his sentence.
Currently, the prison has its own examination facility, named Kericho Prison 2, where inmates sitting for their class eight national examinations complete their KCPE before proceeding to the prison secondary school for their secondary school education.
The male prison facility in the Keongo area on the outskirts of the city of Kericho was founded in 1965 and presently houses more than 400 inmates serving sentences for various offenses.
