1,107 death row convicts plead for Uhuru Kenyatta's pardon

President Uhuru Kenyatta speaking during Mashujaa Day celebrations at Nyayo Stadium on October 20, 2104. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By JEREMIAH KIPLANG'AT
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A total of 1,107 death row convicts want to be pardoned by President Uhuru Kenyatta and allowed to go back to their families.

Also, more than 3,000 convicts serving life sentences have requested the President to set them free.

A new report prepared by the Power of Mercy Advisory Committee indicates that a total of 23,808 petitions were received from prisoners between July 2013 and June 2014 and will be reviewed before they are sent to the President for his decision.

Among the requests, 1,107 petitions were from convicts on death row, while 3,376 were from those serving life sentences.

The biggest number of petitions are by prisoners serving under seven years, who sent 10,171 requests.

The least were 12 petitions from convicts with serious medical conditions.

“The committee received petitions from convicts serving both short term and long term sentences. The short term petitions were from inmates convicted of petty and minor offences serving a jail term of less than seven years while long term convicts are serving long term sentences of over seven years upwards inclusive of convicts sentenced to life imprisonment and those on death row,” said the committee in the report.

The committee has so far reviewed 18,956 petitions and interviewed 867 prisoners in various prisons across the country.

The report was prepared between July 2013 and June 30, 2014.

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale tabled the report in Parliament last week.