Amnesty International Kenya has joined the push for the review of the life sentence, which the Judiciary sparked with proposed changes to the penal code.
The lobby group’s Executive Director Hughton Irungu on Wednesday November 1 argued that that the government should reduce life imprisonment to at least 20 years.
“As Amnesty International, we would press for 20 years and if 20 years is not acceptable in the country, then 30 would be sufficient,” said Hughton
Similarly, Irungu stated that sentences should be focused on rehabilitating convicts to upright members of society instead of being more of a punishment.
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“The way to look at life imprisonment is not as a way of locking people away for a long period of time but creating the conditions for people to be rehabilitated so that they can return to society,” said Irungu.
Likewise, his statement comes as a wake of a proposal by the Judiciary seeking to make changes in the penalties given to capital offenders.
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Judiciary Bill on Imprisonment
The Judiciary had in October 2023 presented two bills to Parliament seeking to review Kenya’s Penal Code, with a raft of proposals, which drew mixed reactions.
Further the Judiciary noted that Sections 220 and 222 should be amended to remove the words “for life” and replace them with “for a period not exceeding thirty years.”
The Judiciary is further pushing for the replacement of the word “manslaughter” with the words “second-degree murder.”
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Kenyan Law on Life Imprisonment
According to Kenya’s current law, a person can be sentenced to death if found guilty of murder, robbery with violence, or treason.
Houghton however says there is a need to revise the Armed Forces Act, which he says has provisions that continue to maintain the ‘death penalty’.
Notably, the push also seeks to shorten the operational period for suspended sentences and repeal all provisions relating to security for peacekeeping and good behaviors.
