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Kenya: Three Inmates Die As Warders Strike
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The Nation (Nairobi)
26 April 2008
Posted to the web 25 April 2008
Nairobi
Three inmates at the Naivasha Maximum Security Prison died after taking a lethal brew prepared by one of them inside the cells.
Five others are admitted at the Naivasha District Hospital in critical condition after consuming what doctors suspected to be methanol.
One of the prisoners died inside the block moments after taking the brew while two others succumbed while undergoing treatment.
Authorities at the prison refused to confirm whether the deaths were caused by the warders' strike which paralysed operations in several jails across the country.
However, sources in the prison said the warders had taken part in a protest march to Naivasha Town when two of the victims were found lying unconscious in the cell.
The source said vigil at the facility may have slackened as a result of the go-slow, allowing inmates time to prepare and consume the lethal brew.
The protest by the warders over risk allowance and poor working conditions paralysed work in other jails across the country.
The protest which was on its second day was characterised by rowdy scenes at several prisons as the aggrieved officers threatened to set inmates free if the authorities did not address their grievances urgently.
However, Prisons Commissioner Gilbert Omondi downplayed the protest and threatened to take undisclosed disciplinary action against officers who did not report for duty as assigned. Investigations had been launched to identify the "few authors of the untoward events," he said and reminded the officers that they belonged to a disciplined force, and that they must be true to their professional calling at all times.
But even as he addressed journalists in his boardroom at the Prisons headquarters in Nairobi, the effects of the work stoppage was being felt in the county's courts. In Nairobi and Central provinces, confusion reigned at the Appeal and high courts as well as the magistrate's ones at Kibera, Makadara, Kiambu, Limuru and Kikuyu.
Appellants scheduled to appear before the magistrates were not brought to court. Some of the affected cases were supposed to be determined on Friday.
At the Court of Appeal, only three rulings involving inmates at the Kamiti maximum security prison were delivered because their lawyers were present. The cases of those not represented had to be adjourned.
The worst hit was Kamiti where officers refused to feed about 3,000 inmates, forcing their seniors to do the job. They threatened to set the inmates free if the authorities did not address their grievances within a day.
By 11am on Friday, officers on duty the previous night had not been relieved because their colleagues had boycotted work. Attempts by Commandant John Odongo to address them failed as they demanded immediate action.
Kiambu district commissioner Lawrence Lenayapa and area police commander Jay Munyambu were ejected from the prison compound as they tried to calm the warders.
The strike also affected the Naivasha maximum security, Nakuru, Meru and Kodiaga prisons.
The officers complained that none of them wore a complete uniform, saying that most were forced to buy uniforms from regular police, GSU and the army. Others had uniforms from the US army and the Uganda People's Defence Force.
At some prisons, inmates were not attended to. At Kibos in Kisumu, for instance, they faced starvation in cells.
The warders are charged with the duty of ensuring that all the inmates are fed by overseeing the whole process of preparing the food. Some threatened to down tools on Monday if their grievances were not addressed. Among other things, they are demanding to be paid a monthly risk allowance of Sh10,000. They also want better housing and an end to what they term as unnecessary deductions from their salaries.
Warders who spoke to the Saturday Nation and asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, complained also of lack of communication between them and their seniors. They are discriminated against among all the uniformed forces, they claimed, arguing that matters got out of hand when they did not receive the Sh10,000 allowance paid to their counterparts in the regular and administration police for taking part in efforts to contain the post-election violence.
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In another development, those from Nairobi's Industrial Area and Lang'ata prisons who escorted suspects to courts, were surprised to find that their Kamiti colleagues had downed tools.
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