Nairobi To Host Kenya’s First Female Detention Facility For Violent Extremist Prisoners

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 22- Convicted female terror suspects will be held in a separate block at Langata Women’s Prison, in a strategic move to curb radicalisation at the facility.

This will be the first female penal institution to have such a facility in Kenya.

A new block with a 12-bed capacity has since been constructed at the prison, with the help of the British Council and a United Nations agency.

The British Council in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime handed over the newly constructed holding block for terror convicts to authorities at Langata Women’s Prison on Thursday.

Deputy British High Commissioner to Kenya Josephine Gauld said the facility will protect other convicts from being radicalized.

“This is very important because we do not want these convicts who have already been radicalised in a range of different settings getting to radicalise other vulnerable prisoners once detained. So we want to keep them separate and run a rehabilitation programme to help them understand what they have done and really think about the consequences of their actions,” she said.

The facility was built at a cost of Sh10.7 million.

Commissioner General of Prisons Wyclife Ogallo said the block will help with rehabilitation of high-risk offenders and called on prison staff to uphold integrity while handling them.

“We’d rather they be hosted where they are not able to radicalize the general population,” he said.

According to reports, recruiters exploit vulnerability of their fellow prisoners by offering prayers, psychosocial support, and financial assistance both during incarceration and after release.

According to prison authorities, the facility will be surrounded by a perimeter wall backed up by two watch towers to ensure maximum security.

It will also have two guardrooms, and will be able to provide safe and comfortable environment for the convicts children.