Calls for abolishment of death penalty in Kenya gain momentum
The number of convicts on death row in Kenya has risen from 120 in 2023 to 175 as at February 26, 2025.
Twenty-eight-year-old Nelson Bukaji a resident of Mathare slums is the latest public advocate for the abolishment of the death penalty in Kenya.
Unlike other Kenyans who learned of the need for the state to abolish the penalty through the media, advocacy and human rights groups, Bukaji's encounter with death row victims first-hand at Industrial Area prison is what permanently changed his perspective.
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A while back, Bukaji had been in remand for months on allegations of drug trafficking after five rolls of bhang were found stashed at a crevice of his mabati house in Mathare slums.
Though he says he was framed by a neighbour who he had a dispute with, the lessons learnt behind bars were to change to course of his life for the better.
He has developed a strong yearning to see young people in Mathare live crime-free.
An urge he says was ignited by seeing the death row convicts suffer mental torture and lose the meaning of life.
"I got to meet several death row convicts during my time in remand at Industrial Area prison. They didn't feel the need for life because they knew they had committed a crime that would result in the end of their lives. It was so painful to watch and at that moment I knew we needed to abolish the death penalty," he recalls.
He adds that one of the death row convicts he met confessed to him that he had been caught stealing to help take his ailing mother to the hospital for dialysis, a story he narrates to young people in Mathare to dissuade them from crime.
"When I was in remand, I kept wondering how my son, who I dearly love was doing. At some point it almost felt like I'm one of the death row convicts facing death penalty as I had no hopes of coming out," he says.
He spoke during a conference dubbed "The death penalty and community safety in Kenya; separating myth from reality" that had been organised by Crime si Poa in collaboration with ECPM, an organisation that advocates against the death penalty.
Managed differently
In Kenya, death row convicts are held in separate cells and managed differently from general convicts. They are not subject to rehabilitation programmes and they wear different colours of uniform.
To the government, they are even a "liability" in the sense that they have to eat, get medical services and other demands that come with court orders but cannot embark on income-generating activities while in prison like the other inmates, thus maintaining them becomes expensive.
There's also the risk of "contamination" of other inmates as they know they are on death row.
"We have never advocated for the death penalty. We have recommended judicial reviews on some, written papers on the same and as you know some have benefitted," Senior Superintendent of Prisons Kennedy Mutoki said.
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He however emphasised the mental torture the convicts go through, saying it affects even those yet to be convicted because of the presumption of what the final sentence will be.
"We must ask ourselves whether the death penalty is compatible with our commitments to human rights and dignity," Crime si Poa Chairperson Wilfred Nderitu said in a speech read on his behalf by his Executive Director, Pete Odera.
He added that numerous studies have shown that the death penalty does not deter crime noting that violent crime in Kenya has significantly increased due to other reasons like inflation and the state of the economy.
Though Kenya is yet to join the list of abolitionist countries in Africa, its recent move to vote in favour of the 10th resolution on a United Nations moratorium on the death penalty ignited hope that the country is on the right path.
It's important to note that while the penalty exists for capital offences like murder, robbery with violence, attempted robbery with violence, mutiny, advocating for government change by force, treason as well as a raft of offences under the Kenya Defence Forces Act, the last execution was done in 1987 following the attempted coup.
The number of convicts on death row has however risen from 120 in 2023 to 175 by Wednesday morning.
Julie Matheka the Programmes Manager at the Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) reiterated the reasons for the calls to abolish the death penalty among them, is the fact that it's irreversible, especially in the event of a miscarriage of Justice, it does not create room for closure and has huge moral and ethical implications.
"I always say that whereas it may look like we are applying the law if you are applying human rights and standards, always remember that so long as the black and white of a law say that it is possible, you never know when it could be used. We should use this opportunity to complete the abolition even though the status quo remains," she warned.
Meanwhile, a working group to push for the abolishment of the death penalty in the country will be formed soon, following consensus by officials from the judicial sector and civil rights groups over the need to fast-track its delayed abolition.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Assistant Director Samson Omondi offered to actualise the formation of the taskforce that will amongst other things bring together like-minded organisations in advocating and pushing for the end of the death penalty.
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