This archive report was first published on 5 January 2022.
On January 3, 2022, Patrick Mwenda, a former Assistant Commissioner General of Prisons, underwent surgery to remove a blood clot caused by a bathroom accident. He died two days later at a private hospital in Mombasa.
Mwenda, who also served as the Officer in Charge of Naivasha Maximum Prison before his retirement, was in perfect health when he fell and suffered a head injury, according to his friend Francis Mwangi.
"He was in perfect health in his Mombasa home when he fell and suffered a head injury. He, unfortunately, died a couple of days after the operation," Mwangi said.
Before his death, Mwenda expressed his wish to be cremated, and his family will respect his wishes. "His wish was that he be cremated and we are working on that before holding a memorial mass at his home town in Embu," Mwangi added.
Mwenda will be remembered for introducing education reforms in the country's correctional services facilities, which have seen more than 2,000 inmates get learning opportunities behind bars. He also championed the formation of the Mindfulness Project, which aimed to positively change the intellect of inmates before their release.
