This archive report was first published on 12 January 2020.
December's announcement by the Kenya Prison Service to recruit graduate cadets has heightened tension between graduate prison officers and the new recruits.
The recruitment of graduate cadets as inspectors is likely to exacerbate the long-standing issue of promotions for graduate warders, who have been left out of promotions since 2017.
According to some affected warders, upward mobility and salary increments in the Prison Service are elusive, despite having master's and bachelor's degrees.
With the last day for applications being Monday, the Prisons Department has stated that successful applicants will be recruited at the inspectorate level, a mid-level rank that majority of the graduates in service yearn for.
However, this move is likely to awaken discontent over the new grading system that was given the green light by the Public Service Commission (PSC) last year.
Aloise Odhiambo, a member of the legal trust Kenya for Justice and Development Trust, has written to the prisons to provide the current salary structure after changes were made in December.
Commissioner General of Prisons Wycliffe Ogallo has stated that there would be promotions targeting officers who have served for long, but none of their staff had voiced discontent over the promotions on academic merit.
Despite this, the new demands are likely to muddle the already uncertain fate of graduate prison officers as they clamour for better remuneration on account of their education.
