Kenya frees 4,800 prisoners in fight against coronavirus

In an effort to reduce crowding in correctional institutions with a view of protecting the prison population against the novel coronavirus, the Kenyan government through its Prisons Service has released 4,800 inmates.

In a statement released on Thursday by Wycliffe Ogalo, Kenya's commissioner general of prisons, all those released are petty offenders comprising some who had their sentences revised by High Courts across the country and others who have been freed after their bail terms were reviewed by Magistrate Courts.

"These measures have been taken in line with the understanding that close and unprotected interaction between individuals is the single-most contributing factor for the spread of the coronavirus,"Ogalo said. "The decision is thus aimed at achieving the recommended 1-meter social distancing within our prisons as part of the progressive review of our strategies in combating the global pandemic."

The announcement came moments after the National Council on the Administration of Justice led by David Maraga, the country's chief justice, said that they had resolved that petty and traffic offenders should never be held by police for more than 24 hours.

"For the sake of transparency, all police stations will have centralized records showing the number arrested and the terms of their release. The office of public prosecutions will monitor the exercise periodically,"Maraga said in a statement released through his live Twitter feed on Thursday.

On the same day, Kenya confirmed 29 more coronavirus cases, raising the total number of confirmed infections to 110. Mutahi Kagwe, Kenya's health cabinet secretary, also announced the death of two more patients, bringing the number of fatalities to three.

Kenya's announcement follows in the footsteps of neighboring Ethiopia, where Sahle-Work Zewde, the country's president, signed an amnesty decree for the release of 4,100 prisoners on March 26.

According to Adanech Abebe, Ethiopia's attorney general, among those released were those who have one year left until the sentence expires as well as pregnant women and mothers with babies. Ethiopia has 29 confirmed cases of the virus as of April 2.