Five prisoners were found dead yesterday in a crowded jail in Meru, Kenya. Despite the Government’s commitment to improve the conditions in the prisons, prisoners in Kenya continue to die due to very inhuman living conditions. (28-SEP-04)
Yesterday, the 27th September 2004, five prisoners were found dead in a crowded jail in Meru, a provincial town in eastern Kenya. The five were among the 12 men crammed into a cell measuring only 3ft by 6ft – barely enough space to take a single bed. It is alleged that the five died of suffocation, but the police are also investigating why three of the bodies bore huge open wounds.
Suffocated
According to the area’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. James Gitonga, all the five appeared to have suffocated and their bodies had similar symptoms – swelling of the feet and knee and ulcerated limbs – caused by the long hours they were forced to remain standing due to congestion.
The three of the five who died were on remand awaiting sentence for admitting in court for being in possession of Changaa (an illicit local alcoholic brew). The other two were each serving three months sentences after failing to raise court fines after being convicted of possessing the illicit brew.
According to the Superintendent of Meru District Hospital who visited the prison, “ there are too many people sharing the cell making it unbelievably hot, foul aired and impossible for them to live. This is contrary to the Public Health Act and in any other place; it would call for the closure of the place”
Officials denied
As is expected of government officials, the Prisons official denied that the prisoners had died of poor living conditions. They could also not explain the cause of the open wounds on the bodies. According to the prison authorities, “the five prisoners had drunk heavily and died of alcohol related complication.” This is rather interesting because it is not clear how prisoners in custody and those serving prison sentences would access alcohol in the first place.
