62-year-old life-sentenced Convict Sits His KCPE Exam As 65 Inmates Graduate.
A 62-year-old life-sentenced convict is among those taking the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.
David Kiplangat Tonui is one of nine prisoners in Naivasha and Kericho who have decided to return to school and take the exams while serving their sentences.
“I opted to go back to school so that I can learn the basics of common law and be able to defend as well as launch my own appeals in court,“ said Tonui who is at the Kericho GK main prison. He was jailed for life after he was found guilty of murder.
The exams were taken by 20 candidates in Naivasha. The inmates were well prepared for the national exams, according to Prison Superintendent Kevin Muhoro.
Peter Moru, who is serving a life sentence for defilement, expressed excitement about taking the exams.
“We have many challenges like lack of enough books and teachers but we are sure we can beat the odds,” said Moru who dropped out of school in class four.
In Nyeri, 17 inmates were taking exams at the King’ong’o GK Prison. One boy from Mukurwe-ini sub-county who was involved in a motorcycle accident was completing his papers at Nyeri Provincial General Hospital.
Three candidates were taking exams at the Murang’a Juvenile Centre in Murang’a.
Prof Fatuma Chege, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Curriculum Reforms, stated that 17 inmates were taking the KCPE at King’ong’o Prison.
There were 22 candidates for the main prison in Kakamega.
Mr Japheth Onjiri, the prison officer in charge, stated that they had done everything possible to prepare the candidates for the exams.
In addition, four students from Kakamega Borstal Institute took their day one exam at Shikusa Primary School.
65 Inmates At King’ong’o Maximum Prison Graduate
This comes as more than 60 inmates at the King’ong’o maximum prison received a certificate in Mindset Education and Theology from the International Youth Fellowship, which is based in Korea (IYF) last week.
62-year-old life-sentenced Convict Sits His KCPE Exam As 65 Inmates Graduate
The 65 are among 378 inmates from 22 different correctional facilities across the country who graduated virtually after completing the one-year course offered by the Mahanaim Bible College.
During the event, Olivia Obel, the director in charge of rehabilitation and welfare services at the Kenya Prison Service, stated that the course was implemented at a time when the country was experiencing an increase in mental health issues.
She explained that the course was one of the interventions put in place by the prisons department to ensure that both prison staff and inmates gained skills to address some of the mental health issues. Obel also encouraged the graduates to be positive behaviour change ambassadors among their fellow inmates within the correctional facilities.
“For us to change our lives we have to first change our mindset so I would urge the graduates to take time and implement whatever they have been taught in the course of the study,” said Obel.
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Patrick Arandu, the regional prison’s commander in charge of the central region, was also present and thanked the IYF for collaborating with correctional facilities across the country to rehabilitate inmates through the mindset course.
In the six years that the IYF has worked with Kenya Prisons, 45 prisons have benefited from similar life-changing courses, he said.
He also encouraged the inmates to take advantage of the educational opportunities available to them while serving their sentences.
Arandu also challenged the inmates to think about their lives after prison, noting that some of the courses offered in the correctional facilities would assist them in reintegrating back into society after their release.
“I want to encourage those in our custody to take up any program that comes their way and more so courses that help them change their mindset. Let us embrace these opportunities and be ready to change our lives because you will be in prison for a given period of time and then you will be set free. But the question is, what are you going to do after you leave the correctional facility,” he posed.
Yusuf Kaitopok, the officer in charge of King’ong’o maximum prison, stated that the course had contributed to positive behaviour change among the graduates.
He also recognized the course’s contribution to assisting the prison service in the rehabilitation process of inmates who had enrolled in the course.
62-year-old life-sentenced Convict Sits His KCPE Exam As 65 Inmates Graduate
“The course entails character and mindset education and it also includes counselling, aspects that correlates with the Kenya Prisons mandate of rehabilitating and reforming inmates under our custody,” he said.
Kaitopok acknowledged that the course had empowered prison facilities to embrace technology through e-learning because the lectures had been conducted online due to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.
In addition to fully funding the course, he stated that the IYF had donated smart television sets to facilitate the virtual learning program, allowing more correctional facilities to participate.
“IYF is among the few institutions that stood with us when we were locked down and isolated from the communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The smart TV set facilitated the virtual learning programs as a result, the program has provided the much-needed hope through counselling and mindset training that made us go through the pandemic and we have emerged stronger than ever,” said Kaitopok.
The graduation was only the country’s second of its kind. The first mindset graduation took place in 2019 at the Kamiti Maximum Prison, where more than 20 inmates received a certificate in Theology.
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62-year-old life-sentenced Convict Sits Hi
s KCPE Exam As 65 Inmates Graduate
