This archive report was first published on 11 August 2019.
On Jamhuri Day in 2018, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded DCI George Kinoti for his service.
However, Kinoti has defied the President's directive to release 120 prisoners under the Presidential Power of Mercy, citing concerns over the reintegration of hardened criminals into society.
According to a report by the Sunday Nation, detectives conducted a fingerprint analysis of the prisoners on the list, revealing that some were repeat offenders with multiple convictions.
The DCI wrote to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, stating that most of the offenses committed by the listed convicts were capital in nature.
As a law enforcement agency, we have noted with concern that most convicted criminals find their way back to the society where they continue to commit crimes in an even more atrocious manner, Kinoti highlighted.
The convicts, some with 22 straight convictions, were scheduled to be released under the Power of Mercy bestowed upon the President as per the 2010 Constitution of Kenya.
67 of those on the clemency list were from Naivasha Maximum Security Prison, six from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, eight from Embu Prison, 14 from Nyeri Maximum Security Prison, and nine from Eldoret Main Prison, among others.
Kinoti now wants the current Power of Mercy Committee to include representatives from the DCI, National Intelligence Service (NIS), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and the Ministry of Interior and Government Coordination, among other relevant agencies, to scrutinize deserving cases of convicts that can be pardoned under the Power of Mercy.
