Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi during the closing ceremony of the fourth Correctional Services Week at the Edge Convention Centre in Nairobi /SCREENGRABPrime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has called for increased investment in prison rehabilitation and skills development, stressing that correctional facilities can help create jobs, promote enterprise and drive economic growth.
Speaking on Thursday during the closing ceremony of the fourth Correctional Services Week at the Edge Convention Centre in Nairobi, Mudavadi said equipping inmates with practical skills and creating pathways to employment after their release would enable them to reintegrate into society and contribute to the economy while reducing the risk of reoffending.
The leader urged authorities to rethink the role of correctional institutions beyond confinement and punishment.
“By equipping offenders with relevant skills, promoting productive engagement and opening pathways to employment and enterprise, correctional services contribute directly to inclusive growth, human capital development and safer communities,” he said.
Rehabilitation, he argued, should address the underlying causes of offending while preparing inmates to return to society as responsible citizens capable of making a positive contribution.
He noted that correctional facilities should not be viewed as places for people who have been permanently condemned by society, but as institutions where offenders could be reformed and prepared for life after prison.
“They are not dens for condemned people. Offenders can be disciplined to become better people with great contribution and impact within societies once they are integrated back to communities,” he said.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary emphasised that rehabilitation should not end when inmates leave prison, calling for coordinated support involving families, communities and other institutions to help former offenders access opportunities and avoid returning to crime.
The success of rehabilitation programmes, he added, depended on the availability of support systems that could help former inmates secure employment or establish enterprises.
Mudavadi placed the proposed reforms within the government's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which seeks to expand economic opportunities and improve livelihoods.
He called for the modernisation of correctional services, describing rehabilitation as an important part of Kenya’s pursuit of economic growth and global competitiveness.
The remarks came during a three-day event held under the theme, “Transforming Correctional Services through Technology and Green Solutions.”
The CS urged stakeholders to move beyond policy declarations and ensure resolutions adopted during the event translated into measurable improvements in correctional institutions.
“The real test of any reform agenda is implementation,” he said, adding that the adoption of the Correctional Services Week 2026 communiqué and resolutions should mark the beginning of action rather than the end of discussions.
He called on the State Department for Correctional Services, technical teams and other stakeholders to establish a clear implementation framework with defined responsibilities and measurable outcomes.
State Department for Correctional Services Principal Secretary Salome Beacco separately called for greater use of technology to improve the management of correctional facilities, stressing that digital transformation should also help restore human dignity.
She said appropriate innovations could strengthen records management, accountability, operational efficiency and evidence-based decision-making while reducing administrative burdens on correctional officers.
