UCLA

In this essay, I will focus on prison systems and inmate experiences in Kenya. Prisons and systems of punishment come in different contexts. Generally speaking, prisons are intended to rehabilitate and transform inmates into better people for themselves and society. However, in retrospect from the historiography of African prison systems and prison writing in Kenya, prisons have moved away from their intended purpose of rehabilitation. The structure of this research project is divided in two parts. In Part, I will historicize prisons in Africa and the historical context of the injustice of power and dominance in Kenya. Part II of this essay will uncover the truth of Kenya’s prison system through inmate experiences in the twentieth century. I argue that prison writings, which I call freedom papers, show that there is a continuity between colonial and postcolonial prisons, and that there were various forms of resistance against discriminatory and oppressive institutions. However, these forms of resistance depended on who was elite and non-elite.