At the Manyani prison,Taita Taveta County ,we meet with some of the convicts who says they are remorseful for their offences and now plead with President Uhuru Kenyatta to exercise his power of mercy to set them free.
They want the same to be applied to various correctional facilities where their colleagues are serving various sentences after being convicted.
They particularly want those who have realized their mistakes and rehabilitated to be released since the jail terms handed on them has served its intended purpose.
The inmates say they also want to participate in the nation building in a big way and that they can only do so when they are as free as birds in the air.
Speaking during a meeting with Power of Mercy Committee at the facility ,the inmates say the handshake between President Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga that brought to an end ethic and political animosity after the much contested August 8 General Election extend to them.
The convicts say they also need to be forgiven since they have forgiven themselves for the offence they committed and most of all they have been rehabilitated.
“The handshake that the president Kenyatta had with Raila should be extended to prison.We plead wth the president to release us from jail so that we can exercise the talents that have acquired while in prison,”said one of the inmates.
The committee’s deputy chairperson Janet Kirui said they will review the more than 2500 applications they have received from prisons across the country and provide recommendation to the President on a case to case basis.
“The applicants that we have are around 2500 in all the facilities.They have all petitioned the president for pardon,we are now in the process of identifying those who shall be considered inthw final list that shall be send to tje president,”Janet said.
The decision on the fate of the more than 2000 inmates across the country whose applications we have received is in the hands of the President because he is the one who decides.9
