The Community Service Order Board (CSOB) has terminated or reduced the convictions of more than 200 convicts to a non-custodial sentence.
Mombasa Courts, CSOB Chairman Justice Luka Kimaru said 221 convicts are expected to be set free in a move aimed at easing congestion in the prisons.
Justice Kimaru said the decision to release the convicts was reached after the board reviewed 415 files from the five prisons in the coastal region.
According to the judge who was speaking at the Mombasa Courts, the number of prisoners has been increasing every day as prisons countrywide are currently holding 57,000 prisoners instead of 26,000.
Justice Kimaru said the sentences of 119 prisoners had been terminated while another 102 prisoners have been committed to community service.
Most of the sentences terminated are of those who have less than two months to complete their jail term, he said.
“The sentences of the convicts we terminated will walk free while the 102 prisoners will be working at public amenities without pay, which is also a way of punishment. The board will also consider prisoners who are first-time offenders and deserved a second chance to redeem themselves.”
Justice Kimaru added that the board is targeting to release 10,500 petty offenders by June this year after it released 6,500 petty offenders in 2015.
The prisoners released will be from Shimo La Tewa and Manyani Maximum prisons, Kwale, Voi and Wundanyi prisons.