ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF SPECIAL NEEDS OFFENDERS
Horace Chacha Sereria

I. INTRODUCTION
The population of prisoners held in Kenyan prisons on 10 February 2013 was 51,945 prisoners,but
the vast majority of these prisoners are male with a small percentage of female prisoners.This number
includes offenders who are convicted, those awaiting trial, and people held as civil debtors, youthful
offenders held in Borstal institutions and Youth Corrective Centres and special category mental
patients.M ale prisoners constitute 94.6% of the population while female prisoners make up 5.4% of the
population.Convicted prisoners represent 59% of the total while unconvicted prisoners are 41% of thetotal.The population of prisoners keeps varying from time to time from as low as 45,000 to as high as
65,000.M embers of staff of Kenya Prisons Service totaled approximately18,000 bythe end ofDecember
2013, with about 3,000 performing specialized duties such as counselors, vocational-skills instructors,
medical personnel, chaplaincy services and social workers.
The actual number of special needs offenders is difficult to calculate because apart from female
offenders and youth offenders,whose statistics can be easily be obtained from official records,the rest,
like offenders with disabilities, elderly offenders and offenders with mental illness, cannot be conclusively singled out from official records because their statistics are scattered in different documents indifferent offices of the Prison Department.Therefore their numbers in Kenyan prisons are not certain.
However in the recent past, concerted efforts to obtain verifiable numbers of offenders with special
needs have taken place, with all institutions required to come up with statistics on offenders withdisabilities, both physical and mental. This will ensure that Departmental policymakers have data toserve as the basis for the formulation of policies to govern the treatment of these special needs
offenders.
Special needs offenders require extra attention while in prison because they are vulnerable due totheir gender,physical and mental disposition,and social status.This special attention needs to involveall criminal justice stakeholders and other agencies in the assessment and treatment of these offenders
in order to ensure they are not harmed by imprisonment but are rehabilitated and successfully
reintegrated. I will briefly highlight the Kenya Prisons perspective on special needs offenders, especially offenders with mental and physical disabilities, the elderly and female offenders.

II. FEM ALE OFFENDERSIn Kenya,just like most other countries,female offenders constitute a small percentage of offenders
held in prisons or rehabilitation centres, which is between 2-8% of the total numbers of offenders incustody across the world. Due to the small number of female offenders in prison, most countries,
including Kenya, invest very little in female prisons and this in turn means that the standard of carefor female offenders is compromised due to poor infrastructure, inadequate provision of food, healthservices and social amenities.Female prisons are few and far between,thus making it difficult for theoffenders to be visited by their children, family and friends. For example, in the western region of
Kenya there are only two womenʼs prisons whereas there are six menʼs prisons. Lack of visitation
results in the likelihood of losing ties with persons who would have made their reintegration back into
the community easier.
Female offenders require additional health services such as reproductive health services.Expectant
Superintendent of Prisons, Shikusa Borstal Institution, Kenya Prison Service.

216

157TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
offenders need pre-and post-natal care.Offenders with children accompanying them in prison requirechild friendly facilities and provisions for their children.M ost female offenders are primarycaregivers,
and their imprisonment affects other people,for example,their children and other family members;theeffect of their imprisonment goes far beyond the prison walls. Some female offenders are victims ofsexual abuse and violence making them vulnerable to suffer mental disorders as a result of thesetraumatic experiences.In jurisdictions where female offenders are supervised by male prison officials,
incidents of sexual abuse can be experienced through abuse by male prison officers.
The Bangkok Rules on the treatment of female offenders recognize the importance of according
female offenders special attention due to the above-mentioned issues and more. Kenya is a signatory
to many conventions and treaties that protect the rights of women and children and also conventions
on the treatment of offenders in custody.
The Prisons Act Chapter 90,Laws ofKenya,was crafted to conform to the United Nations Standard
M inimum Rules on the Treatment of Offenders in custody,and it has specific provisions on how female
offenders should be treated or handled while in custody.Section 28 of the Act states that “In any prison
in which any female prisoner is imprisoned,there shall be a woman prison officer who shall have thecare and the superintendence of female prisoners,and who shall be responsible for their discipline.”All
Kenyan womenʼs prisons are administered by female prison officers;male prison officers do not have
unsupervised contact with female offenders.
Assessment of needs for female offenders in Kenyan prisons is done during admission bya reception
board. The board consists of the officer in charge of the prison, social welfare officer and otherofficials. During this board meeting the needs of an offender are assessed with any special needs
documented, the offender is informed of her rights and obligations, complaint mechanisms and ways
and means ofcommunicating with friends,relatives and legal representation.The social welfare officer
will act as the link between the offender and the community,and will take follow-up action with local
welfare agencies to ensure the offenderʼs issues such as the well-being of his or her children are cateredfor;the officer will also aid in placement of children in foster care or care centres or with relatives incase the children attain the age of four years (under Kenyan law,female offenders are allowed to staywith their children in prison as long as they are under four years old)while the mother is still in prison.
M ost Kenyan womenʼs prisons have established day care centres to cater for children accompanying
their mothers in prison.In addiction the children are provided with food,clothing and other provisions
at government expense. The Prison Service has employed qualified personnel to run these day care
centres and has also benefited from donations from well-wishers and donors.

Nursery and day care centre at Kakamega Womenʼ
s PrisonIssues of health of female offenders in Kenya are also well documented and a medical officer isavailable to offer medical services to all offenders.Female offenders are offered medical services andreproductive health services in prison health centres and are referred to community medical centres for
specialized treatment or in case of child birth. The government provides sanitary towels for all
offenders.
Offenders suffering from HIV/AIDS are accorded the same standard of care as the one offered tothe community by provision of counseling and Anti Retro Viral (ARV)drugs.Their confidentiality is217

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 94
protected,and they are allowed to form support groups to help in living positivelywith HIV.On releasefrom prison there is a well established referral system to ensure that the offenders do not lack medicine
and support services. The Department has a fully fledged Aids Control Unit with branches in all
prisons.
Rehabilitation programmes are available to all convicted offenders and discussions on the best
rehabilitation programmes an offender can undertake are held with the input of the offender andconsider the criminogenic factors that led to the commission of the crime. Formal education foroffenders who are illiterate is also offered. This education is similar to that which is offered to thecommunity.Data collected from womenʼs prisons across the country indicate that about 60% of female
offenders are illiterate;therefore formal education is an important rehabilitation strategy.
Psychosocial counseling is offered to offenders who are in need,especially those who have sufferedfrom sexual abuse and gender-based violence.Addiction and substance abuse programmes are offered
to offenders assessed to be substance or drug addicts. Family visits are also encouraged to enableoffenders to maintain constant touch with their children, relatives and friends. With the advent ofmobile telephony, offenders are allowed to communicate with the outside world, and offenders withchildren in foster care are also allowed visit them under supervision.
In Kenya most female offenders are charged with minor offences especially related to brewing ofillicit alcohol;therefore rehabilitation programmes are tailored to offer alternative means of earninga living. Programmes like dress making, knitting, juice making, soup making, hair dressing, modern
farming and entrepreneurship skills are offered.
In an effort to aid smooth reintegration into the community,Kenyan prisons have discharge boards
in all prisons.The discharge boards are saddled with the task of seeking employment for offenders whowish to be employed after release or aiding in looking for sponsors to help offenders start income
generating activities. The board invites other agencies like the probation services, social services,
potential employers and Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs)to these meetings.Deliberation on
the best way to help the offender reintegrate successfully into the community are discussed and dealt
with in these meetings.
However, assessment and treatment of female offenders in Kenya has its challenges:
Lack of linkages between stakeholders,like police,courts,probation services and prisons,forexample, lack of probation reports and court proceedings. This leads to gaps in offenderʼs
information, which delays formulation of individual treatment plans.
Offenders serving short-term imprisonment and offenders awaiting trial are many and their
numbers overwhelm prison officers. This means their issues are not adequately addressed inprison.
There is a shortage of adequately trained prison personnel or specialized officers who aretrained to handle unique issues of female offenders.
Lack of adequate resources to run special programmes for female offenders while in prison
and after release. Most programmes present are sponsored by NGOs and their sustainability
is not guaranteed.
Stigmatization and victimization of female offenders by the community.This leads to lack ofsupport upon release and can lead to recidivism (reoffending)
Therefore stakeholders in the offender management cycle, like courts, police, probation services,
social service,prisons and the community,must work in close cooperation to ensure female offenders
are accorded the proper care and protection while in prison and are successfully reintegrated into thecommunity after release. The Prison Department needs to come up with modern programmes torehabilitate female offenders dealing in crimes such as drugs and human trafficking,cybercrimes and218

157TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
terrorism that are increasingly involving female offenders. The Department also needs to introduce
special programmes for rehabilitation of female offenders suffering from physical disabilities.
III. OFFENDERS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIESThe number of persons living with disabilities is steadily increasing,and more of them are finding
themselves in prison. In Kenya the number of persons with disabilities is not known because somefamilies hide their relatives who suffer from any form of disability. The number of offenders withdisabilities is not known;however the Department has realized that it has to start making provision inits plans for offenders with disabilities. In the year 2013, the Department embarked on an exercise tocollect data on the number of offenders with disabilities, both physical and mental. This exercise did
not achieve its goal because officers in prisons had difficulties in identifying the types and severity ofdisabilities. The officers lacked specialized training to deal with offenders with disabilities.Facilities
such as accommodation blocks,toilets,workshops and even offices were not designed and constructedwith offenders with disabilities in mind. It is only recently that prisons started building offices,
accommodations blocks and other facilities with ramps and provision of toilet facilities for physically
impaired persons.It is now official government policy for all facilities and buildings to be user friendly
for persons with disabilities.
Due to the lack of trained officers in disability management,treatment programmes are ad hoc anddisjointed. Offenders with disabilities gain very little from rehabilitation programmes offered inprisons apart from counseling services.Wheel chairs,white canes,crutches and other equipment to aid
in mobility are in short supply. Provision of health services for offenders with disabilities in Kenyan
prisons are similar to those offered to the community and specialized treatment is available,althoughsometimes the offenders have to be transferred out of their local prisons in order to access these
services.This leads to a disconnect with their relatives and friends who are important stakeholders in
the rehabilitation process.

Prison buildings with ramps for accessibility by disabled offenders

The Department liaises mostly with NGOs to help in the treatment of offenders with disabilities,but
it will need to train all its officers to at least have basic knowledge on how to identifyand offer support
to offenders with disabilities. Reintegration of offenders with disabilities presents unique challenges,
especially if the offenders have little or no support system from family and friends. Most offenders
commit offences related to property and crimes against persons like assault.Equipping offenders withincome generating skills and counseling them on anger management would go a long way in reducing
incidences of recidivism.
Challenges facing persons with disabilities
Lack of trained personnel in handling offenders with diverse disabilities
Lack of specialized facilities, equipment and instruments for mobility
Inaccessible buildings and facilities

219

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 94
Lack of suitable rehabilitation programmes
Lack of funds to aid in reintegration
It is vital that offenders with disabilities in prison are offered facilities, equipment and provisions
that will help them cope or overcome the difficulty brought about by their disabilities.Persons shouldbe accorded non-custodial sentences unless they are convicted of serious offences. M odern rehabilitation programmes, like use of information and communications technology, should be utilized inassessment and treatment of offenders with disabilities.

IV. OFFENDERS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS
The number of offenders with mental disorders in Kenya is deceptive. This is because while inofficial statistics there is an entryon offenders with mental illness,in the actual sense this is the number
of offenders declared to be mentally ill by courts after trial or before.According to statistics available,by the end of December 2013,there were only 184 offenders classified has having mental illness.These
offenders were sent to prison for detention awaiting removal to mental illness facilities or to be underobservation. The assessment of this category of offenders is fairly easy because a competent court
prior to committing the offender to prison would have conducted inquiries into the mental status of theoffenders and established, with help of a qualified medical practitioner, that the offender is indeed
suffering from one or more mental ailments. The role of the prison officers is to ensure that theoffenderʼs basic necessities are provided,he or she is not exposed to any harm,is accorded medical help
as required and the family and friends are allowed to visit.It is important to inform courts and otheragencies of the progress of the offender.
However some offenders by virtue of the imprisonment or deprivation of freedom become psychologically and emotionally disturbed by this traumatic experience and develop mental disorders.Other
offenders develop mental disorders as a consequence of prolonged drug and substance abuse. These
offenders are difficult to identify unless prison officers are trained to notice the subtle signs associatedwith the onset of mental disorders.M edical officers and counselors should be on the lookout for signsof mental illness or disorders in offenders because most mental disorders are treatable if discovered
early and the patient is put on appropriate therapy.In Kenyan prisons,facilities for dealing with drug
and substance abuse are inadequate.Procedures are,however,present on what should be done by the
medical officer or officer in charge if an offender is suspected to be suffering from a mental disorder.
Section 38 (I)of the Prisons Act states:
Whenever a medical officer is of the opinion that any prisoner is of unsound mind, he may, byorder under his hand in the form prescribed,direct that such prisoner be removed to any mental
hospital in Kenya and be there detained, and such order shall be authority for the reception of
the prisoner and for his detention in such mental hospital until removed or discharged ashereinafter provided.
However due to lack of proper knowledge on mental health and very few qualified medical
personnel in mental health,most offenders who suffer from mental illness or disorders receive insufficient care and suffer at the hands of prison officers who mistake them as being rude,uncouth,lazy or
unruly. Prison officers need to be trained in mental health issues in order to help them know how to
detect offenders with mental health problems and how to handle different offenders with different
mental issues.Involvement of relatives and friends in the treatment ofoffenders with mental illness anddisorders is highly advisable due the fact that these relatives or friends will offer a support system that
extends beyond the prison,and this support would be crucial to the offender when released from prison
to aid in recovery and reintegration.
Challenges encountered by offenders with mental disorders
Lack of qualified personnel in mental health (few health professionals are conversant withmental health issues).
Only a few facilities in the country have psychiatry units (patients have to cover long distances

220157TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
to be attended).
Some cultures and communities associate mental disorders with witchcraft and resist medical
help from conventional medicine.
The government needs to train more mental health workers and open up mental health clinics in all
medical facilities. The government also needs to open up rehabilitation centres for persons fighting
addiction to drugs and other substances like alcohol;this will give courts and other criminal justiceagencies options of recommending rehabilitation in these centres rather than persons being sent toprison.

V. ELDERLY OFFENDERSElderly offenders are offenders considered to be aged or who have attained retirement age.In Kenya
the retirement age is 60 years old.However,the government has given guidelines on who it considers
to be elderly,and in this case any person who is 65 and above is classified as elderly.The statistics ofelderly offenders cannot be verified without research,but with as many as 5,000 offenders being either
under life imprisonment or facing death sentence, the number may increase significantly. Elderly
offenders face enormous challenges due to their age. They have reduced mobility;they suffer frommany diseases associated with old age like arthritis, urinary tract infections, and poor eye sight,
dementia, among others. Coupled with the fact that many have few or no relatives left makes the
management of this type of offender tricky.Prison officers are at pains to implement suitable rehabilitation programmes for these offenders because skill acquisition programmes may be beyond theircomprehension. In Kenya social welfare officers are tasked with the responsibility of maintaining
offendersʼcontacts with friends and relatives.Counseling services and post-release strategies should beconsidered with input from other state and non-state actors.Since Kenya has few retirement homes andnursing homes, capable relatives should be urged to help in the care of these elderly offenders upon
release. Issues of the estate should be worked on with the involvement of family members. Issues ofoffenders who age in prison due to long sentences or life imprisonment should be comprehensivelydealt
with by introduction of a parole system or sentence review after a duration of imprisonment.

VI. CHALLENGES IN ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT OF SPECIAL NEEDSOFFENDERS
1. The Department has few service providers who can classify and identify the needs of offenders
with special needs.
2. Lack of special facilities to cater for persons with special needs.
3. Few trained personnel to handle persons with special needs.
4. Lack of coordination among key stakeholders,like courts,police,probation,social services andnon-state actors.
5. Inadequate funding for programmes touching on special needs offenders.

VII. PROGRESS IN REGARD TO SPECIAL NEEDS OFFENDERS
1. Kenya Prisons Service has established directorates that deal with issues of special needs
offenders at its headquarters.
2. The Department has hired a few professionals, i.e., psycho-educational assessment specialists(special needs teachers), with expertise in special education and social workers to help in theidentification and classification of persons with special needs and to assist in coordinating issuesof special needs offenders with other agencies.
3. The Department has also employed medical practitioners to help in offering quality healthcare

221

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 94
to these offenders.
4. The Department has collaborated with non-state actors in assisting persons with disabilities inour penal institutions.
5. The Department has come up with infrastructural modifications to address and make facilities
friendly for persons with special needs, i.e., construction of ramps in some penal institutions.
6. There is sentence remission for all offenders serving definite terms of imprisonment who are not
lifers or offenders sentenced to death.

VIII. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The government should commission research into issues ofspecial needs offenders in order to getdata that will help in developing evidence-based programmes.
2. Develop training for needs assessment and courses for staff of the Kenya Prisons Service.
3. The Department of Correctional Services should enhance and make accommodation facilities toconform and cater for persons with special needs,e.g.,ramps instead of stairs,special toilets andaccommodation facilities for special needs offenders.
4. The Department should enhance the provision of basic facilities for persons with special needs
held in custody,i.e.,information to be put in Braille for the visually impaired and physiotherapy
rooms for persons who are physically challenged.
5. The Department should hire people with expertise and knowledge in handling persons withspecial needs.
6. The Department should be keen in taking statistics of persons held in custody and collaborate
with other agencies that will help in training staff, and even give assistance by providing
equipment used for special needs offenders.
7. Introduction of legislation to deal with re-integration of all offenders, especially special needs
offenders.
8. Additional allocation of funds to help in initiating and enhancing programmes aimed at assisting
special needs offenders.
9. Enhanced coordination of all stakeholders in the assessment and treatment of special needs
offenders.

IX. CONCLUSION
The number of special needs offenders will continue to rise steadily in Kenya and around the world.
The assessment and treatment of offenders will require the input of the government, criminal justiceagencies and other stakeholders to aid in the rehabilitation and reintegration ofthese offenders in orderto make their stays in prisons as conducive to rehabilitation as possible.
References
1. The Constitution of Kenya 2010.
2. The Prisons Act, Chapter 90, Laws of Kenya.
3. Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.
4. African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

222

157TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
5. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
6. United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial M easures for
Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules)
7. The Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
8. United Nations Standard M inimum Rules on the Treatment of Offenders in Prison and Places ofDetention.
9. A Human Rights Approach to Prison M anagement by Andrew Coyle. International Centre for
Prison Studies, 2002.

223