NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 7 — Acclaimed gospel singer Rueben Kigame, who unsuccessfully vied for President in 2022, has asked President William Ruto to free petty offenders as a token to mark Easter.
Kigame, drawing inspiration from the Bible, argued Barabbas, a far worse criminal was freed by Pilate as the crowd demanded to have Jesus crucified.
Easter, preceded by a 40-day period of penance known as Lent, commemorates the passion, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Kigame referred to a verse from the Bible (Matthew 27:17) in which Pilate freed Barabbas, one of the greatest offenders of the time, on the first Easter to emphasize on his request.
“Your Excellency William Ruto I have a special Easter request. Can you give Kenya an Easter gift releasing them using article 133 of our Constitution?” he pleaded.
Kigame went on to assert that he would have freed petty offenders if he was President.
He noted that offenders held for inability to pay fines as little as Sh10,000 could benefit the nation if they participated in economic activities.
“It is more expensive for the country to keep these petty offenders in prison. The country would gain more economically if you released them,” he said.
“If you incarcerated them because they lacked a fine say of Sh10,000 by the time you release them at full term, they will have spent more.”
Power of Mercy
Under Article 133 of the Constitution, the President exercises the Power of Mercy in accordance with the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Power of Mercy.
On the petition of any person, the President may exercise a power of mercy in accordance with the advice of the Advisory Committee established under clause (2), by–
Article 133(1), Constitution of Kenya (2010)
(a) granting a free or conditional pardon to a person convicted of an offence;
(b) postponing the carrying out of a punishment, either for a specified or indefinite period;
(c) substituting a less severe form of punishment; or
(d) remitting all or part of a punishment.
Kigame’s call came days after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on urged judiciaries in Africa to adopt environment conservation sentences for petty offenders instead of custodial sentences.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the 3rd Regional Symposium on Greening Judiciaries in Africa held in Nairobi, Gachagua noted most prisons hold more than three times their capacity, with over half of the detainees being petty offenders.
“Most of these people are hustlers- in other words, they may not raise the fines. Instead of custodial sentences, I challenge the judiciary to embrace environmental conservation sentence as has been recommended in a host of criminal justice reports,” he said.
Gachagua stated that such a move would play a critical role in decongesting prisons.
As at December 5 2022, the national prison population in Kenya stood at 58,887 against a capacity of 34,000.
