Court Makes Landmark Ruling on Allowing Prisoners to Attend Relatives Funerals

The High Court has delivered a landmark ruling regarding the rights of prisoners and detainees to attend funerals of their close relatives.

In a major ruling delivered on Friday, February 23, the High Court directed that prisoners and detainees have the right to attend funerals of their loved ones.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi said prisoners had a right to be treated humanely, including being allowed to accord their relatives and loved ones their well-deserved last respects.

"This Petition thus succeeds partly in one respect. The Court acknowledges that prisoners and persons detained have a right to be permitted, whenever possible, to attend burials or funerals of their close relative within the principle on humane treatment of prisoners and persons detained under Article 51 of the Constitution and respect for their inherent dignity under Article 28 of the Constitution," Justice Mugambi stated.

However, he insisted that the right is not absolute indicating that in some circumstances the request could be denied.

In the ruling, the judge noted that prisoners would be required a formal request to the prison's department which will then vet and evaluate the request before making a decision.

"Nevertheless, the right is not absolute has to be balanced to avoid prejudicing the safety of the public or that of the person detained or imprisoned."

The ruling was made in a petition which was filed by Moses Dola Otieno, a journalist who is serving life over the murder of his wife Wambui Kabiru.

In his petition, Dola argued that he was not allowed to bury his mother thus infringing on his rights. He sued the Ministry of Interior which is currently headed by Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki.

In making the ruling, Justice Mugambi directed the Interior Ministry to make regulations to guide the Persons Deprived of Liberty Act, which was enacted in 2014.

He noted that the regulations would guide the whole process in the country.