Petitioners urge Kenya to adopt global standards on prisoners' conjugal rights

In court documents seen by Citizen Digital, the petitioners argued that there is no legal justification for the denial of conjugal rights to prisoners, breaching provisions of Article 45 of the Constitution that allow the right to family.

"The right to family life includes the right to maintain intimate relationships, which is integral to preserving the integrity of the family unit," read the documents in part.

"Conjugal rights are essential to preserving the dignity, mental health, and familial bonds of prisoners, which are critical to their reintegration into society upon release."

The petitioners want the court to order the Ministry of Interior and the Kenya Prisons Service (KPS), 1st and 2nd respondents, respectively, to pilot conjugal visitation programs in select prisons.

They have also sued the Attorney General as the third respondent.

They argued that denying prisoners conjugal visits has spurred homosexuality, prisoners’ marriages, and the spread of HIV cases.

Citing a 2009 report by the National Aids Control Council, UNAids, and the World Bank, they reported that inmates accounted for 15% of new HIV infections in Kenya and have increased due to the rise of the inmate population.

The petitioners therefore want the respondents to develop an interim measure as a comprehensive policy and framework for conjugal visitation within 12 months.

They also want the respondents to allocate resources and develop appropriate facilities in all prisons to accommodate and facilitate conjugal visitation in a dignified and secure manner.

The trio wants the policy to be created through a public participation process to onboard input from stakeholders.

They urged Kenya to adopt conjugal visit structures adopted in international jurisdictions, among them South Africa, Brazil, and Canada, which "allow prisoners to exercise conjugal rights under specific conditions, ensuring the balance between security concerns and human rights".