Nairobi — Kenya National Commission on Human Rights yesterday welcomed a plan by the Government to release 20,000 petty offenders.

Commissioner Tirop Kitur said although he shared the concern by the police that the release of the prisoners would increase the level of crime in the country, it is a violation of human rights to hold prisoners under inhuman conditions.

He said over-crowding strains the meagre prison facilities such as health, water and sanitation.

"These have been the cause of food shortage, prisoner - to- prisoner violence and suffocation in our prisons, said Kitur.

He argued that only those prisoners serving sentences of less than three years should be set free.

However, Kitur cautioned against releasing hard-core criminals including rape, robbery and murder convicts.

Some police officers were quoted yesterday as having opposed the plan. They instead suggested that more jails be put up or the existing ones be expanded.

The commissioner appealed to the Government to expand prisons as a matter of urgency.

"It's also important that the Government employs and enhances the capacity of probation officers to cope with the increased number of convicts doing community service,'" said Kitur.

There are only 300 probation officers serving across the country.