The inmates who include Aloise Onyango Otieno, Nicholas Ouma Obonyo, and Samuel Ng’ondo said the Commissioner General of Prisons has failed to pay them despite receiving allocations from the Treasury. Section 5 of the Kenya Prisons Service standing orders provides that the earning rates shall be 20 cents for grade A (prisoners with exemplary conduct and are skilled), 15 cents for grade B (good conduct and semi-skilled), and 10 cents for grade C (prisoner not in grade A or B). The prisoners say the government has breached their right not to be held in slavery and servitude, adding that they are denied pay. The inmates say failure to give them essential items like soap, toilet papers, tooth brushes and paste is a violation of their basic rights. High food prices and the rising number of inmates have been making it difficult for prisons to meet convicts' dietary needs.

Source: Daily Nation December 18, 2018 06:00 UTC