The government has announced that it will be soon releasing 8000 inmates for alternative out-of-prison correctional programmes.
Speaking on Thursday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that the new move will help decongest the correctional facilities, while at the same time giving the inmates an opportunity to complete their rehabilitation.
''My Administration is processing 8,000 prisoners for alternative correctional programmes outside the prisons, the better to decongest the facilities, and to give the prisoners every chance of completing their rehabilitation,'' the President said in a tweet.
Speaking after presiding over the Kenya Prisons Service recruits pass-out parade at the Prisons Staff Training College in Ruiru, The President maintained that the new contingent will serve all Kenyans equally, irrespective of their variations.
''Their presence and their success affirms our commitment to fair opportunity to every Kenyan, whatever your community and whichever part of the country you call home,'' he wrote in a separate tweet.
The event saw a contingent of 3, 198 officers, both male and female, graduate to join the prisons department, with Kenyatta stressing that a good number of the new team was uplifted from the National Youth Service.
He noted that the group also consisted of members of the Makonde community.