Moderated by: Jean-Marc Zbinden

 

Abstract summary: Kenya Prisons Service is currently facing a myriad of challenges which correctional systems across Africa are also grappling with. Some of the common challenges including outdated infrastructure, overcrowding, and inadequate resources that often weaken effective rehabilitation and undermine human rights compliance. To mitigate these challenges, KPS has embarked on a comprehensive modernization strategy that focuses on infrastructure revitalization as one of the key correctional reform agenda. This paper presents the strategic framework guiding KPS modernization, focusing on prison planning and design, securing land tenure, adoption of institutional clean cooking, and integration of digital technologies in prisons management. It elucidates how these efforts align with Kenya’s constitutional imperatives, Kenya’s Vision 2030, and international human rights instruments such as the Mandela Rules. The objective is to reposition Kenya’s correctional system as a model of humane, secure, and technologically advanced institution in Africa and beyond.