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ABOLIZIONE SENTENZA CAPITALE TRA IMPEGNI NUOVO GOVERNO NAIROBI, 25 FEB - Pena di morte commutata in carcere a vita: e' la decisione presa oggi per 195 condannati alla sentenza capitale dal neo presidente della Repubblica del Kenya Mwai Kibaki. Lo ha reso noto il ministro dell'interno Moody Awori. Sono stati, inoltre, scarcerati -non ancora spiegati i meccanismi della decisione- 28 altri condannati a morte. Quello dell'abolizione della pena capitale e' uno degli impegni del nuovo governo del Kenya, emerso dal voto del 27 dicembre scorso che ha cancellato la maggioranza storica del paese, al potere dall'indipendenza (1963). Una scelta, peraltro, che trova forti opposizioni nell' opinione pubblica. Fu cosi', del resto, anche in Sudafrica quando Nelson Mandela (gia' condannato a morte) impose l'abolizione della pena di morte addirittura nella nuova Costituzione: anche in quel caso contrastando la larga maggioranza dell'opinione pubblica. In Kenya la condanna alla sentenza capitale e' frequentissima: basta aver commesso rapina con violenza (e', peraltro, molto piu' raro che sia inflitta per omicidi). Ma e' molto difficile capire che percentuale di queste sentenze siano realmente applicate: poche, secondo Amnesty International; moltissime, e poco dopo la decisione del giudice, secondo la larga maggioranza degli altri osservatori. PRESIDENTE KIBAKI CONCEDE LA GRAZIA A 29 CARCERATI E CONDONA LA PENA DI MORTE A 195 195 keniani che erano stati condannati a morte si sono visti oggi commutare la pena nell'ergastolo. La decisione � stata presa dal neo presidente del Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, che ha decretato la liberazione di altri 29 carcerati, anch'essi detenuti nel braccio della morte e l� dimenticati per anni. Lo ha reso noto il ministro degli interni Moody Awori in un comunicato stampa diffuso oggi, precisando che il governo � fortemente preoccupato per il problema del sovraffollamento delle carceri keniane. "Ci sono persone condannate che restano a marcire nel braccio della morte per anni senza sapere niente del loro destino, dal momento che le loro sentenze non vengono eseguite n� condonate", ha aggiunto Awori. Il ministro degli interni di Nairobi ha fatto anche sapere che il governo ha intenzione di fare maggiore chiarezza sul numero di persone rinchiuse nel braccio della morte nel Paese, dal momento che un bilancio ufficiale non � mai stato stilato. Stando a quanto riferito, l'esecutivo cercher� di analizzare dove possibile tutti i casi per provvedere, qualora giudicato necessario, alla liberazione dei prigionieri o al loro eventuale inserimento in un nuovo programma basato sulla formazione di comunit� di servizi sociali. Soltanto la scorsa settimana Amnesty International aveva inviato al neo capo di Stato keniano un memorandum nel quale si chiedeva al governo di rispettare e appoggiare i diritti umani fondamentali, salvaguardando quanto previsto nella costituzione nazionale e nei trattati ratificati da Nairobi. L'organizzazione internazionale per la tutela dei diritti dell'uomo pi� famosa al mondo aveva apprezzato le promesse fatte da Kibaki durante la campagna elettorale riguardo all'abolizione della pena di morte (l'ultima esecuzione in Kenya risale al 1984) e la persecuzione di tutti coloro che si sono macchiati di torture. The Kenyan Government has released 28 prisoners on death row and commuted the death sentence of 195 others to life in prison. The Kenyan Minister for Home Affairs and National Heritage, Moody Awori, said most of those released had been on death row for a very long time, and some for more than 20 years. Mr Awori said the 28 were already out and on their way to rejoin their families. One aim of the action was to decongest Kenya's over-populated prisons, said Sylvester Mwaliko, permanent secretary at the ministry of home affairs and national heritage, responsible for Kenya's prisons. The action was also aimed at fulfilling some of the promises made by the ruling National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) during last December's election campaign, he said. The commissioner of prisons, Abraham Kamakil, said his department was against the death penalty, because mistakes could always be made in criminal proceedings, and it was longing for the day when the Kenyan parliament abolished it. Abolition Mr Kamakil, now regarded as the most reform-minded prisons chief since Kenya attained independence from Britain in 1963, is urging the government to abolish the death penalty altogether. He says parliament should remove the death penalty from the statute books, stressing there is always a strong possibility that the wrong person could be hanged. The last death sentence was carried out in Kenya in 1987. Those hanged at the time were junior officers of the Kenya Air Force found guilty of planning the 1982 coup attempt against former President Daniel arap Moi's government. This latest release of prisoners on the death row could be an indication of the new government's determination to outlaw the death penalty. The current Minister for Justice, Kiraitu Murungi, who was the shadow attorney-general in the last parliament, often spoke very strongly against the death penalty, describing it as barbaric.
Kenyan president orders release of 28 death row prisoners and commutes death sentences of another 195 Feb 25, By TOM MALITI, NAIROBI, Kenya - Prison officials released 28 death row inmates Tuesday following on orders of President Mwai Kibaki whose government has promised to reform Kenya's prison system and wants to see capital punishment abolished in the East African nation. Another 195 death row inmates had their sentences commuted to life in prison, Home Affairs Minister Moody Awori told The Associated Press. The 28 prisoners were released because they had already served between 15 and 20 years and "were of good conduct," Awori said. "This is a new government with new thinking," he said. "The government feels there is no reason and no justification to keep prisoners, particularly if they have reformed, in prison that long." The death penalty - by hanging - has not been carried out since 1987. Kibaki led an alliance of opposition parties to an historic Dec. 27 election victory that ended the 39-year rule of Kenya African National Union party, or KANU. KANU had governed Kenya since independence from Britain in 1963. Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi has described capital punishment as barbaric and said the government hoped it would be abolished when the country adopts a new constitution. Kibaki has said he would like parliament to adopt the new constitution by the end of June. Awori said he did not know how many prisoners there are on death row. The Kenya Human Rights Commission estimates there were 1,270 prisoners on death row in Kenya's notoriously overcrowded maximum security prisons as of last September. Anyone convicted of committing murder or "armed robbery with violence" can be sentenced to death in Kenya. This has meant that a judge could sentence a chicken thief to death if he used violence in committing the theft. There are no jury trials in Kenya. Prison officers in neighboring Uganda have also urged their government to abolish the death penalty in the that East African nation. Earlier this month, the Uganda Prisons Department handed its recommendations to the Constitutional Review Commission, arguing that it would be better to rehabilitate prisoners instead of executing them. Uganda's review commission is supposed to draft a report on its findings which will be presented to parliament to debate later this year. Many African countries maintain the death penalty in their constitutions as a carryover from colonial rule.
President Kibaki pardons 28 death row convicts By DAVID MUGONYI and MUGO NJERU President Mwai Kibaki today pardoned 28 deathrow prisoners who had served between 15 and 21 years.
All the prisoners who were immediately released from jail, had had their appeals against sentence dismissed and were awaiting hanging. President Kibaki also commuted the death sentence for 195 other deathrow convicts who will now serve life imprisonment. "In the spirit of reforms, the President yesterday (Monday) signed an order where 28 death row prisoners whose sentences were commuted to life imprisonment be freed because they had already served up to 20 years," Home Affairs Minister Moody Awori told the Press in his office in Nairobi. He said those who will now serve life sentences have been transferred to Naivasha, Shimo La Tewa and Mandera prisons among others. Mr Awori said his ministry was working with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to study offences of certain inmates with a view of freeing some. This, he added, will help reduce congestion, prevent the spread of epidemics and thereby limit other vices. He said the 28 prisoners were traumatised each day of their lives as they did not know whether their hanging day had reached or not. "They had never seen the sun or the sky, today their lives have changed," Mr Awori said. The group will now have an opportunity to see the light of day for the first time. They were confined in total darkness everyday, 11 of them crowded in a room meant for three. Those who were released, left the Kamiti Maximun Prison, Nairobi, yesterday morning for their homes. Nineteen were convicted for robbery with violence while nine faced murder charges. However, three of them Paul Wamiti, 40, Gibson Njau Githaria, 56 and George Karanja Mwangi, 48 found their way to the Nation Centre, Nairobi, and narrated their ordeal. The three were overjoyed by their release and said "we feel like born again and would like to thank the President and his minister". The group was said to have shown reformist behaviour and can now rejoin the society. Those to serve life imprisonment were transferred to various prisons throughout the country, Mr Awori said. However, more than 1,500 others who have challenged the sentences in court are awaiting completion of their cases. Recently, Mr Awori visited prisoners and warders and was perturbed by the living conditions. He promised prisoners television sets and radios and delivered them last week. The minister said the government would make the places habitable by building more prisons and staff houses for warders to reduce congestion. Commissioner of Prisons Abraham Kamakil who accompanied the minister said, the gesture by President Kibaki was the biggest In Kenya's history. "This is a historic event for the 34 years I have served in the department, I have never seen anything like this...it is a good step towards rehabilitation. Mr Kamakil appealed to Parliament to abolish the death sentence as it had claimed innocent lives. "We are longing for the day Parliament will remove the death penalty from our Constitution. Sometimes many people are hanged for wrong reasons," he said. Mr Awori said the Kibaki government had decided to empower ministers reform their ministries "The President decided a style of government where he gave full responsibility to his ministers." He said reforms will be hurried to make lives of both prisoners and warders comfortable. In the Kenyan law, death penalty covers crimes of murder and robbery with violence. Moves to outlaw capital punishment have failed twice in the past eight years, in 1994 and 2000. Imenti South Minister Kiraitu Murungi-now Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs-moved a motion in Parliament to abolish the death penalty. In both instances, then ruling party rallied its forces to defeat the motions. Some MPs, during the 1994 motion, argued that abolishing capital punishment was tantamount to "licensing murder". The last hanging was in 1987, when the 1982 coup plotters Hezekiah Ochuka and Pancras Oteyo Okumu were court-martialled to the gallows. Since then about 2,000 Kenyans have been placed on the death row, but inexplicably, none has been hanged. Official documents show that 1,925 inmates were on death row as of January 5, 2001. Of this,1,777 were waiting for their appeals to be heard, only 146 had their petitions finalised and awaited execution. Of the 3,584 Kenyans convicted of capital offence-murder and robbery with violence-between 1963 and 1987, only 280 have been hanged. Within the period, 1,755 had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment. The death sentence as relates to robbery with violence was legislated 30 years ago. February 25, 2003 President pardons death row prisoners By Ochieng' Sino President Mwai Kibaki today lifted the death sentence for 28 prisoners and commutted to life imprisonment 195 others on death row. The Head of State's move was announced in a gazzette notice order signed on Monday at State House. Home Affairs Minister Moody Awori, under whose docket the Prisons Department falls made the announcement at his Jogoo House offices today. He was flanked by Commissioner of Prisons Abraham Kamakil and Permanent Secretary Sylvester Mwaliko. Awori said the move by the President was in line with pledges made during the campaigns last year when Narc promised to carry surgical reforms on the government. Awori said some of those released had never seen the sun for the past 20 years. "Some of those released today had not seen the sun for the past 20 years. Today they are free to join the rest of Kenyans in rebuilding our nation", the minister said. He said the ministry is working with Constitutional Affairs and Justice Ministry to help reduce the number of those in prison. The 28 released whose ages range from 36 to 66 years had served between 15 to 21 years in prison waiting for the hangman's noose. Awori said that putting the convicts on death row waiting for the hangman was the worst human torture. He said they were kept unsure of what tomorrow held for them in their secluded prison cells. The minister said the prisons need reform adding that plans were in place to reform them. He said Community Service Order (CSO) is the way out to help decongest the prisons. Under it, convicts do community work under supervision. Awori said prisons were overcrowded with prisoners forced to cram themselves in a cell meant for three. Awori said homosexuality and spread of AIDS in the prisons was as a result of congestion where inmates were forced to squeeze themselves together. The minister said the warders and prisoners suffered poor accommodation facilities at the local prisons. He said construction for new buildings to ease congestion in the prisons was a priority adding that very soon prisoners will live comfortably. Awori said prisons were full of petty offenders and remandees which can be addressed through CSO. All the 195 whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment were redistributed throughout the country. Kamakil said the move was an historic event adding that in his 34 years in prisons service such a thing has never occurred. Kamakil said the last death row prisoners were hanged in 1987. The Commissioner of Prisons said the prisoners who were hanged were those took part in the failed 1982 coup. "This is the right way to rehabilitate these people. We are longing for the day Parliament will remove Death Penalty", Kamakil said. Kamakil said death sentence had seen wrong people hanged for reasons not of their own. Those released were convicted of murder and robbery with violence. Nine were convicted of murder while 19 were charged with robbery with violence. 25 de febrero de 2003, Kenia.- El nuevo presidente keniano conmuta las penas de muerte de 195 detenidos, por cadena perpetua
El nuevo presidente keniano, Mwai Kibaki, conmut� las penas de muerte de 195 detenidos, por cadena perpetua y liber� a otros 29 que segu�an condenados a la pena capital en este pa�s, seg�n anunci� hoy a la prensa el ministro del Interior, Moody Awori. La pena de muerte por ahorcamiento no ha sido Publicidad aplicada desde 1987 en Kenia. "Tal y como sabeis, la ley que prev� el ahorcamiento sigue existiendo en nuestras leyes, pero, en un esp�tiru de libertad, el presidente Kibaki firm� ayer un decreto que conmuta las penas de 195 condenados a muerte por cadenas perpetuas", declar� Awori. No precis� por qu� los otros 29 condenados a muerte fueron liberados bajo orden del presidente. La ley keniana prev� que los condenados a muerte sigan detenidos hasta que el presidente ordene su ahorcamiento o su puesta en libertad, sin tener que justificar sus decisiones. Mwai Kibaki, hasta ahora l�der de la principal coalici�n de la oposici�n, gan� el pasado 27 de diciembre las presidenciales al vencer al candidato del partido en el poder. |
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the Community of Sant'Egidio
Abolitions, 
