Social Re-Integration

Social reintegration

About 90% of persons in prison custody will at one point be released into the society. Upon their release, these persons will take up residence (become our neighbors), find employment (become our co-workers) and move freely within the society (or within certain conditions as determined by the release order(s)). Social reintegration programmes and activities are aimed at fostering the readiness, social aptitude and mental readiness to reenter society determined to live a dignified and crime-free life. The CELSIR social reintegration programmes and activities expose, triggers and inspires prisoners to develop self-worth/respect, and develop a sense of responsibility.

Some of the clients CELSIR deals with have been in custody for decades and the prison institutions is all that they know. CELSIR holds the hands of such transiting prisoners by assisting them to locate their kin, encouraging their kin to attend resentencing hearing court sessions so that they can reignite their kin-relationship, and finally, upon release, CELSIR endevours to give such prisoners an exit care-package to assist them in their new life. CELSIR, through its elaborate expert counsellors, also provides the much needed pre and post-release counseling sessions to such transiting persons, so that they can be able to adequately navigate the challenges of their new found freedom.

Some of the programmes that CELSIR champions include the circles of healing, pre and post-release counseling, job skills workshops, trauma healing support forums, etc. CELSIR fosters and upholds a safe environment and encourages peer-paring (peer-peer engagement) between prisoners to purposely set up interactions between those that are struggling to engage successfully with others in similar situations, but who are faring on quite well, to assist them to cope with any challenges. During such reintegration initiatives, CELSIR encourages reconciliation and forgiveness (if possible) with victims of the crime that the prisoners are incarcerated for. CELSIR also advocates for its clients to engage in meditation exercises to achieve mental wellness. CELSIR programmes encourage the culture of goal setting. It provides counseling to prisoners to look beyond their prison terms and take up opportunities within the prison-system in anticipation of their release, such as taking up learning opportunities, learning trade skills, etc.

CELSIR reintegration programmes inculcates in its participants’ economic resilience in readiness for impending release. This is achieved through training, mentorship, apprenticeship, and meditation, where such inmates are prepared to obtain sustainable income, post incarceration.

Children in prison

Children who accompany their mothers to prison, or who are born to imprisoned mothers, can stay in prison with their mothers until they attain the age of 4 years. While the Kenyan justice system has done well to keep these children connected to their mothers, a lot more challenges continue to face these innocent children such as lack of age specific diet and nutrition, diapers, clothes, learning materials, beddings, and other basic items. Prison cells smell a lot, are often congested, have no adequate water, no fresh air, no adequate sunlight, and are very cold. These children therefore are often depressed, and their growth and development negatively impacted.

CELSIR works with children who live with their mothers in prison. CELSIR believes that such children are not criminals, and as such should not be subjected to any treatment and environment that reduces their human basic (children) rights. CELSIR associates itself with Aspiration 8 of the Agenda 2040 which outlines how children ought to benefit from a child sensitive criminal justice system. CELSIR also recognizes the Kenyan Government’s effort to formulate child-friendly policies for children who live with their mothers in prisons. CELSIR believes that deliberate extra attention should be provided for children through provision of an enabling environment within the prison system that provides for their developmental needs by having adequate budgetary provisions for children of imprisoned mothers’ needs.

Through its legal team, CELSIR ensures that pregnant women or mothers with children can be given non-custodial sentences for petty offences. For children already in the prison system, childhood years should be marked with play and adventure, which leads to appropriate cognitive development, fine-motor skills and creativity. This is not a guarantee in prison. CELSIR means to change that through its programmes which seek to provide responsive caregiving and attention in the critical formative stage of children in prison. CELSIR is working at ensuring that each women prison it deals with has a child care centre where a child can enjoy play, interact with toys, and find some early childhood learning. This will assist the children to find proper mental stimulation, which is critical in their formative years.

Once a child hits four years, they have to be reintegrated back to society. CELSIR acknowledges the gap in lack of a clear reintegration plan which affects the children negatively. For a child who has to leave the prison system and has never seen the outside world, reintegration can be a nightmare. CELSIR engages in trying to locate the kin of such exiting children and trying to assist with their introduction to such kin and the outside environment. CELSIR also works with non-profit organizations to assist children who have no kin, or whose kin are not willing to take them on, by placing them into institutions that have child-friendly policies. CELSIR assists in providing pre and post counseling to such children who may be very afraid of leaving their mothers behind and entering into a new home or institution, to reduce separation anxiety, cultural and social shock for the minors.

Success stories:

1. My name is Joseph. I am 70 years old. I have been in prison for 20 years alongside my daughter and 4 sons who were my co-accused. I first learned of CELSIR when they took up my resentencing hearing case. Being old and illiterate, I did not know what stage my case was in. CELSIR took up my matter and discovered that the Court had already pronounced itself on my case and upheld my life sentence. On being informed about that, I lost all hope on ever getting out of prison and I resigned to the fact that I would die here. However, CELSIR made a review application to the court and fervently prayed for the court to reconsider its decision and affirm my Constitutional rights. The court graciously granted my prayer and substituted my life in prison sentence to 45 years from the date of my arraignment. I am a trustee in the prison system and have never been caught in any disciplinary issue. I have undergone various rehabilitative programmes, and I am a catechist and counsellor. I am hopeful I can be compassionately released by the president based on my good record. I am very grateful to CELSIR who took up my case when I had nothing at all to pay them and had lost all hope in life.
2. My name is Tom. I am a happy beneficiary of CELSIR. They handled my case when I was serving a prison sentence in Kakamega and subsequently, through their help, I was given unconditional release. When I reentered society, I went back home and was perturbed to learn that my land had been grabbed by a neighbor having learned that I was in prison and that I would never be released. I was very angry at this realization but the support and assistance that CELSIR provided me, gave me the fortitude to go back to CELSIR and report the matter. Through CELSIR, I was able to launch a suit at the Environment and Lands Court in Kakamega, to obtain orders to reinstate my proprietary rights. I could not have done this without CELSIR.
3. My name is Phylis. I am an inmate in Eldoret Main Prison. I have been incarcerated for 11 years now. I am 30 years old. I came to learn of CELSIR when they took up my resentencing application in Bungoma High Court and helped me to argue my case (alongside my mother and sister-in-law’s case, who are my co-accused). Through their passionate advocacy, our prison term was reduced from life in prison to 30 years commencing from the date of our sentencing. Currently, CELSIR is assisting us to present review papers to have the court review its orders to have the 30 years to run from the date of incarceration since we were in custody during the original trial. CELSIR has also provided us with a lot of support through counselling sessions, providing sanitary supplies, and giving us meaningful education about life in general. Before I knew of CELSIR, I hated lawyers and the legal system as a whole. Right now, through their support I have requested to be transferred to another prison to continue with my secondary education, and I hope to one day be a lawyer.
4. My name is Chebet. I am a mother of a 5-year-old daughter. I am currently in custody in Kapsabet Women Prison. I am a pre-trial detainee. I first learned about CELSIR through Anne in 2021 when the Kapsabet Women Prison was visited by lawyers who were providing legal aid on the LSK Legal Aid Week. One of the lawyers offered to take up my case. The lawyer spoke to me briefly and left since it was very late. I did not expect her to come back but three days later, she came back with children’s clothes including heavy jackets, which my daughter really needed as Kapsabet is very cold. At that time, I had been charged with the offence of assault, use of profane language and arson. Anne really assisted me and got the charge of use of profane language to be thrown off. She also convinced the court to unconditionally absolve me of the offence of assault. However, for the offence of arson, the court insisted that I had to stand trial since it is a serious offence. CELSIR is still helping me to defend the arson case. When my daughter reached 4 years, she had to leave the prison. My daughter’s father is also serving time for a crime he committed. CELSIR assisted me to find my sister and helped to settle my daughter in her home.

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