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Love behind bars: Three sue over prisoners’ conjugal rights
Three Kenyans have petitioned the court to order the introduction of Conjugal Visitation Rights to prisoners in Kenya, in a renewed bid to move reforms at the correctional facilities a notch higher.
Peter Agoro, John Wangai and Anthony Murimi have filed a petition at the High Court against the Ministry of Interior & Coordination of National Government, Kenya Prison Service and the Attorney-General over failure to recognise and facilitate conjugal visitation rights for prisoners.
The petitioners want the court to issue various declarations and orders compelling the Government to develop and implement a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework for conjugal visitations within 12 months.
According to the court papers, the petition is intended to safeguard the constitutional rights of inmates and their families.
The total number of prisoners in Kenya increased from 160,121 in 2021 to 169,579 in 2022 as per the most recent report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The petitioners claim that due to the lack of a policy framework on conjugal visits in prison for married inmates, families and marriages of prisoners, which are a sacred union, are breaking down and leading to high cases of infidelity.
“The denial of conjugal rights to Kenyan prisoners by the Ministry of Interior and the Kenya Prison Service, which is a fundamental aspect of the right to family life, is a violation of the Constitution, international human rights law, and customary law that acknowledges the importance of conjugal rights in family life,” reads the petition.
Denying prisoners access to romantic relationships with their lovers is discriminatory, the petition says, adding that the denial also undermines the emotional and psychological well-being of prisoners and their families.
It said prisoners and their lovers were being subjected to unnecessary suffering, given that the majority of prisoners are young people in their reproductive years.
“The unconstitutional and illegal denial of conjugal rights to prisoners has led to severe emotional and psychological consequences on both the prisoners and their family members. The right to family life includes the right to maintain intimate relationships, which is integral to preserving the integrity of the family unit,” reads the petition.
They want a court order compelling the Ministry of Interior and the Kenya Prison Service to recognise conjugal visits as an integral part of the right to family and to pilot the conjugal visitation programmes in selected prisons as an interim measure while the comprehensive policy framework is being developed.
According to the petitioners, upholding conjugal rights to prisoners would help in solving alleged homosexuality and would also help in moulding the behaviour of the prisoner.
“A 2009 report by the National Aids Control Council, UNAids and World Bank designated prisoners as most–at–risk population and also reported that inmates accounted for 15 per cent of new HIV infections in Kenya. Allowing conjugal visits in secluded areas of prisons would help arrest the runaway Hiv/Aids high prevalence in prisons,” the petitioners argue.
The petitioners want the court to compel the Government to allocate financial resources and develop appropriate facilities in all prisons to accommodate and facilitate conjugal visitation in a dignified and secure manner.
The petition was filed at the High Court in Milimani and is pending hearing and determination.
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