- Embu Women’s Prison has broken ground on a KSh9 million Mother and Child Unit to improve conditions for children living with incarcerated mothers.
- PS Salome Beacco has commissioned a new ECDE centre at the facility and has outlined ongoing reforms to modernise correctional facilities nationwide.
Embu Women’s Prison will benefit from a Sh9 million Mother and Child Unit to improve the welfare of children living with their incarcerated mothers.
The facility, which is being developed with support from Freedom Within Kenya, is expected to provide a safer and more nurturing environment for infants and young children spending their formative years in prison.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Correctional Services, Dr Salome Beacco, said the project was part of the Government’s broader efforts to transform Kenya’s correctional facilities. Beacco said reforms initiated in 2022, following the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Prison Reforms, were aimed at shifting the correctional system from a punitive approach towards rehabilitation, dignity and successful reintegration into society. “Some of the recommendations made by the task force, including rehabilitation and modernisation of correctional facilities, are the ones we are now implementing,” she said.
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She cited Embu Women’s Prison as an example of the ongoing transformation in correctional facilities, noting that the institution had benefited from several projects, including a dining hall, rehabilitation of its borehole, landscaping and the establishment of an Early Childhood Development and Education (ECDE) centre.
Earlier, Beacco commissioned the new ECDE centre, which comprises two fully equipped classrooms and a water, sanitation and hygiene facility. The centre will cater for children of incarcerated mothers, children of prison staff and those from the neighbouring community.
The PS said the Department was prioritising education as part of evidence-based rehabilitation, citing the historical link between low literacy levels and offending. “We are working to upgrade daycare and child-friendly facilities across the country’s 46 women’s prisons, while strengthening partnerships with organisations willing to support reforms within correctional institutions,” Beacco said.
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She said improved prison infrastructure should go beyond meeting inmates’ basic needs to creating environments that support rehabilitation, vocational training and preparation for reintegration into society. Beacco also emphasised the importance of public-private partnerships in addressing infrastructure gaps in correctional facilities, saying the Government could not undertake the reform programme alone.
The new Mother and Child Unit is expected to complement existing interventions at Embu Women’s Prison by providing dedicated accommodation and care for children accompanying their mothers in custody. Freedom Within Kenya is a community-based organisation and advocacy group focused on prison rehabilitation, criminal justice reform, and restoring the dignity of incarcerated mothers and children in Kenya.
By Obegi Malack
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