33. Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps have been taken in the prison compounds of Kenya to separate from women offenders, children and young persons serving sentences of imprisonment for offences; whether solitary confinement of children and young persons remains a punishment for misbehaviour in prison; to what extent children and young persons are given education and training in useful occupations in the place of hard labour; and to what extent men are employed as warders in the women's prisons.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydSegregation from adult prisoners of young persons in prisons is mandatory under the Juveniles Ordinance, and in the cases of children detained in prisons during the Governor's pleasure segregation from adult prisoners is one of the conditions of such detention; juveniles, and by this I mean young persons under 18, are subject to prison discipline and can be sentenced to solitary confinement in the case of aggravated or repeated prison offences; of the twenty-one females under 18 at Kamiti four have undergone sentences of solitary confinement.
All female juveniles in prison receive education and vocational training; male juveniles are employed on gardening and building work and about a third receive some education. A prison industry section is to be established at Langata where male juvenile prisoners will be taught useful trades and all will be given elementary education; male warders are employed as guards in the outer perimeter at Kamiti, but are not employed in the women's compounds.
Mr. Creech JonesWill the Secretary of State now recommend to the Kenya Government some enlightened regulations for prison administration, that there should be some segregation of young persons from the senior prisoners, that the punishment of solitary confinement should now be abolished, that definite steps should be taken for the instruction of young persons and that education and training should be part of the prison course?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI have sympathy with the thoughts behind the right hon. Gentleman's question. I think that he will find that action has been taken on most of the subjects he covered. I must stress the fact that some of these juveniles are very tough customers indeed, and in one particular instance mentioned in the House solitary confinement brought to an end a drastic series of mutinous incidents.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThey are limited. The maximum sentence which can he awarded is 16 days, of which no more than seven days is served continuously and an interval of seven days must elapse 477 before a further period of the sentence is served. If penal diet is also awarded, the periods and intervals are four days.