Visitors to prisons must show proof of Covid vaccination

Prisons Commissioner-General Wycliffe Ogalo has asserted that visitors must show evidence that they have been fully vaccinated before being allowed in prison premises. 

Ogalo was speaking at Manyani Maximum Security Prison during a vaccination drive for prison staff and inmates. 

In an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19, the government suspended prison visits last year. However, officials plan to start allowing visitors again but on condition that they are fully vaccinated. 

The prisons boss said, "We will demand that those who come to visit our inmates must prove that they are safe by showing that they have been vaccinated." 

Last week, The Ministry of Health and the Kenya Prisons Service launched the first phase of a vaccination programme for prison staff and inmates.

Ogalo said, "If we allow them (inmates) to interact with those who have not been vaccinated, then it will be self-defeating." 

According to Interior Chief Administrative Secretary Winnie Guchu, 90 per cent of prisoners in Kenya have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Guchu added that misinformation and cultural beliefs caused resistance among some inmates and staff, thereby instigating challenges in the campaign. 

She said, "Some are resistant because of cultural beliefs that the vaccine may have negative effects on them. Some are also hesitant because of vaccine information on social media." 

Targeted groups have been sensitised on the need to be vaccinated, Guchu highlighted. 

"The people we have been vaccinating this week are those who were resisting the vaccine. We are slowly seeing a change and we hope that we will be able to achieve the 100 per cent vaccination target by the end of this week," she said, adding that once all inmates have been vaccinated, 

the ban on prison visits will be lifted. 

The Interior CAS also said, "The inmates have been requesting the government to allow their families to visit. We have been consulting with the Ministry of Health, which advised us to vaccinate everyone before we open the facilities to the public."