OUR VISIT TO LANGATA WOMENS MAXIMUM PRISON

Picture this.

You are in jail.

You are a minority in jail.

You don’t speak the local language.

You have no representation or lawyer

No access to family with no international phone calls permitted………

We met 4 South African women who are in this predicament this week and it must be scary for them indeed.

It all was just by chance that we found out about these women and when I say ‘we’, I mean the South African Women’s Association.  An email was received by the lady chair from a Belgian man saying that he had met a South African woman in a Nairobi court and she was in a distressed state.  She had been in jail for 9 days and had not seen any legal eagles and with no international phone calls permitted, literally, nobody knew where she was.  This wonderful Belgian man asked for a family member’s phone number in South Africa and made a call to notify them that their family member was in jail, he contacted the South African High Commission and also contacted SAWA (South African Women’s Association).  He was a driven man, as he also contacted a few other members of SAWA in plight of this woman he had only met hours before and then days later until he got a reply.

The South African High Commission can’t really do much for these women.  They can notify family members should they wish, but they don’t help them financially and they don’t provide them with any legal help.  I can understand this to an extent; imagine if there were 100 South Africans in jail, how could they financially help them all?  I get it.  But 2 of these women have been languishing in a Kenyan jail for 12 months now, on remand still, waiting to be tried and sentenced and the most recent arrival has been in jail for 2 months, all awaiting their trial dates.    

SAWA is also limited to what they can do to help.  Their capacity is more on compassionate grounds.  We aren’t councillors, we aren’t lawyers, but we are humans and we can lend an ear, a shoulder, a hug and more importantly we are the only life line to their families.  However being a sensitive issue with many different opinions amongst the committee it was decided that we would embark on this journey in a personal capacity and not under the auspices of SAWA. Ms J asked the High Commission if there was anything we could do to assist and they suggested care package consisting of basic toiletries which we sent via the High Commission just after Christmas for the 4 women.

Ms J, has been in touch with some of the families and they are either sending money to buy what the girls need and given in the form of care packages, emailing pictures of family members which we have printed out and they are allowed to write letters, as long as they are in English which Ms J is printing them out and handed to the girls.  Something so small, it costs us minimal, can and does, mean the world to these women.  If we can give them a ray of hope, in what is and will be a very grim future for them all, then we will.  

As mentioned our group was a divided one when we were approached for help.  Some people were totally against helping AT ALL, some were wary and then there were a handful of us that just had to offer the hand of compassion.  I can understand all these sentiments to begin with.  People are scared of the unfamiliar, scared of what they have seen in movies about jail and the people in them, and there is a preconceived idea, if you are in jail, you must have done something wrong.  Yes these girls have done something wrong and they will be judged and tried in a court of law, that is not for us to do.  I am also sure that they will punish themselves for the position that they find themselves in.  Life is about choices, they made a wrong choice and I am sure that they will regret that decision for the rest of their lives.  Kenya, as most countries, do not take very nicely to drug smuggling, and I think it will take a miracle to get these girls out of jail, EVER.  As it is, one has been sentenced and she is now serving a LIFE sentence.  Life in Kenya means life.  She will literally die in this place and she will have to deal with her own demons every day.  BUT they are HUMAN BEINGS.  They are far from home, they have no access to basic and bare necessities such as toilet paper, sanitary napkins and underwear, no access to family and no access to just a good ol fashion talk, ‘foreigner to foreigner’.

The next step was to visit the girls personally.  As you can imagine, Ms J didn’t want to go on her own and when she asked me if I wanted to go with her, without yet knowing the full story I said of course.  I would never let a friend go into an unknown situation like that on their own.  In the end there were 4 of us that decided to go and because we didn’t know the area and the procedure, we all chipped in for a driver to take us, just to see the lay of the land for our first visit.  There were concerns voiced about our visit.  Mostly about our safety, as we really had no idea on what to expect.  What kind of condition is the jail in?  I think of Asian jail conditions, the police stations in this country are not the greatest places, so what would their jail look like?  Would we be welcomed by the girls and by the wardens?  I certainly had a pre-conceived idea based on what I had seen on TV, especially watching shows like ‘Banged up Abroad’, crime shows and of course TV shows and movies and they were the pictures that I carried with me.  Again not knowing what we were up against I took off all my jewellery, I left my handbag at home and took a small purse, which only contained my ID that was required and 1000ksh (12AUD).  The other ladies were not so anal as I was (though they did take off their earrings and watch), and Miss E did wear a bra that didn’t have an underwire so as not to set off the security machine should there be one.      

It was a nervous drive.  Not to make light of such a serious situation, but we all had a, literally, nervous hysteria.  We were making small jokes, con-texting TV shows, nervous laughter and it is just one of those things you do when you are walking into something that you have no idea what to expect.  What do we talk to the girls about?  The weather?  How are they (stupid question), the list was endless of ‘stupid’ questions and would we be in a room with other inmates?  Will we talk in a little room with glass between us and a phone?  Would they be cuffed to the table?  Would there be other inmates that were or weren’t cuffed?  We kept asking all these questions knowing that nobody knew the answers to a single one, and the nervous school girl laughter kept on.

We arrived at the front of the prison and it then dawned on us when we read the words above the gate that said Langata Women’s MAXIMUM Prison.  Maximum.  I don’t think any of us were expecting that.  A new level of hysteria and joke cracking.  Hmmmmm that just made us all a little bit more jittery and we decided to leave our phones in the car with our driver.  I am sure we couldn’t use them and certainly not snap a photo for Instagram or Facebook, well without getting shot, so we decided to leave them and carried our care bags that Ms J had organized for the 4 girls and we walked up to the main gate.  We asked to see Madam O, who Ms J had been conversing with over the past week, saying that she was expecting us.  After a small chat that ensured between the staff, asking us how many of us there were, we were told that we could take the car through the main gate and we would be met at the madam’s office.  To enter the prison, there were no bag checks or metal detectors, and they didn’t ask for phones to confiscate them.  The prison staff were all very friendly and at this point the car wasn’t checked either.  After we had driven through the main gate we tried to put to rest our jittery, nervous, joke cracking laughs aside as we entered the prison grounds, which wasn’t too hard to do as we drove slowly past prisoners walking around doing chores in their striped prison garb and the reality of where we were sunk in.    

Langata Women's Prison (LWP) is the only all women's prison in Nairobi.  It is a big compound, but there are over 750 prisoners, 43 children (mothers incarcerated) and there is over 400 staff that also resides on the premises, which due to security they live in the compound, and when you think of those numbers, that is a lot of people to house.  LWP is comprised of a remand centre for short sentences and those awaiting trial or sentencing, a medium security section for slightly longer sentences, and then the maximum security for the convicted and what we would consider federal offenses and long term sentences.  There is also an onsite Nursery School where the prison staff children attend, the children of the prisoners and also some outside children are permitted to attend.  Children are allowed to stay with their mothers until they are 4 years old.  If the mother is still in prison once the child turns 4 then the child is sent to a children's home until the mother is discharged, there are even children are born there! Can you imagine, and to think that it is the only home they know.  What a setting for a child. 

We were shown into the office of the ‘Officer in Charge’ and chairs were bought in for us to take a seat in her spacious and clean office.  The office contained a few things of note.  One was what I would call a pennant board of all the officers in charge since the jail opened in 1964, which looked like all the officers in charge do a term of 2 years.  There were over 20 trophies on a shelf, which I would like to know how a prison ‘earns’ a trophy and the last thing was a large blackboard on a wall beside us, covered by a sheer curtain, was the stats of the prison.  It showed how many women incarcerated, how many of them were in the ‘life’ column, the ‘death’ column, the amount of children etc…… and it was quite a sobering moment.  Our appointment was for 11am and while we waited, like naughty school girls waiting to see the headmaster, there was a steady flow of people coming into the office introducing themselves and telling us that ‘Madam’ was in a meeting but wouldn’t be long.  We met the welfare officer, the human rights officer, the officer in charge of Madam’s appointments and we were also asked if we wanted a soft drink or a water……..  This was certainly not the reception or expectation of what we had preconceived and we were starting to realize we were getting the ‘royal’ treatment.  You would think this would ease our stress levels, but it just made it that much more incredulous and we started again with laughter and crime busting jokes, which included talk of a quick getaway should the prisoners make a run for it, advising on running techniques from gunfire and also mention of our next visit in superhero suits should the need arise, which then segways on to lycra outfits and the fits of laughter start once again.  We must have seemed quite strange to the guards, as we wiled away the time in the office. 

The Officer in Command arrived at 12 noon.  She thanked us for waiting and she was shown a great deal of respect from the guards and officers and was quite clearly titled.  She was very welcoming and after taking a chair and sitting in front of us, rather than behind her massive desk 4m away, she gave us information on the prison, a small hint of some sponsorship for medicine, a toilet or a function and then finally some words on the 4 South African women we were to meet, with a few choice words about one particular woman.  This is of course from the Madam, so it was all light and fairy.  We were told of what activities they have for the girls, the prison store where they can buy things from money family send them, the onsite hairdresser, doctor and nurse etc…… and then she summoned the girls in for us to meet them.  Madam O said that the meeting would be supervised, in her office, and then we would be able to have some personal time with the girls before they had to be taken back.  We were told that our future visits would not be conducted this way, but was done as a favour to us and also I think, for the Madam and staff to check us out, and our interaction with the girls.  It was at this point that the care packages were checked over, the plastic bowls and spoons were not permitted as they were too rigid and the bath towel was too big, due to security-things could be hidden under it and was also not permitted.  There was a letter from a family member that had been emailed to Ms J which was printed, proof read by the human rights lady and cleared to be given to one of the women. 

So what did they do to land in a Kenyan jail?

They were smuggling drugs.  The hard stuff, cocaine.  We have not been able to speak to the girl’s one on one to get their own stories, but researching information on the internet they were all caught transiting through Kenya with West Africa as their final destination, originating from Brazil.  We can only guess what the circumstances were.  As far as we can make out they are all single mothers, their average age would be mid- thirties and they are all South African. 

Miss A has young twin boys and two girls under the age of 13.  Her mother is looking after them and is doing it tough with no money to spare for legal representation for her daughter.  She was caught with 1kg of cocaine and is currently on remand for the last 12 months and still awaiting trial.

Miss T has 3 children who are currently in welfare.  She has been shunned by her father and stepmother when her case was aired on the 7pm news in South Africa and her mother is not in a position to help monetary wise.  She was caught with only .38g of cocaine and I am sure if she had of had some sort of decent legal representation then she may not still be in jail now.  She is currently on remand for the last 12 months and is still awaiting trial.

Miss L is the only one of the 4 girls that has been tried and sentenced and is residing in the maximum security section of the prison, so the girls don’t get to see each other that much due to this.  Miss L got life for her offence and has currently been in prison for the last FIVE years.  We have not been able to find any information on the internet about Miss L and we had no opportunity to talk to her and she seemed to come across as the hard nut of the group, according to Madam O, but after 5 years of maximum prison life, I wouldn’t expect anything less, as I am sure there are days you have to be tough on the inside to survive. 

Miss E is the most recent inmate and was the original woman who the Belgian man helped out in court.  She has a teenage son and her family are doing all they can to get help to Miss E.  They have been the most proactive, even calling an NGO who deals with foreign people incarcerated in foreign jails and I am sure that no stone will go unturned in their efforts to get her out.  She was caught with 4.5kg of cocaine and has been on remand for the last 8 weeks and is waiting to hear on her trial date.  From the information I have read, she was arrested by a joint task force consisting of the Kenyan anti-narcotics unit at the airport, as well as foreign police that included members from the South African Police services.  So my un-informed take is it seems that she was set up, a patsy, and I would hate to think the thoughts, the ‘what if’s’ that run through her head every day.   

It seems the legal system here, if bail is granted, you need to pay the requested amount for bail and you also need a surety from a Kenyan, whether it be a home or a block of land for the girls to get out of the prison as they wait for their trials.  As you can imagine, majority of them would be lucky to get the bail money, let alone know a Kenyan to put up their plot of land to get them released.  In saying that, only Miss A has been granted bail, but she can’t come up with both of the requirements, the money and the surety, so she still finds herself in a hopeless situation anyway.  The State opposed bail arguing Miss A was a flight risk but the acting Magistrate did not agree.  He agreed that the offense was serious but did not find it to be a compelling reason to deny the accused person the right to be released on bail.  All offences under the law are bailable and he added that under Kenya's Constitution, even those accused of the worst crimes, have the right to seek bail. Miss A was never a visitor in this country but a passenger on transit and denying her bond would be discriminating against her for having no fixed abode or acquaintances in Kenya, he stated.  Miss A’s bail was set at one and a half million Kenyan shillings (about 20,000 AUD) and the surety. 
 

So knowing this from our own investigating the girls were bought in and we had asked permission beforehand if we could hug the girls and this was not a problem, our only rule was that only English was to be spoken and no Afrikaans. So we sat in a row on one side and the girls in a row across from us and as all conversations have a way of working out, the time just flew by with small talk, some laughs and general chit chat from the girls.  There was no talk of prison life, what they had done or their treatment as there was 3 guards, plus the madam in the room, so there were literally ears and eyes, but we did ask about their previous care packages and told them that we had bought some more things for them, mostly out of the pockets of the girls own funds, and the look of gratitude on their faces will not be forgotten.  A new list was made of what the girls needed, was again checked by Madam O and after 1.5 hours, permission was granted for the girls to make a very rare phone call to their families in South Africa using our mobile phones retrieved from the car.  We were then told to wind up the visit, as we had been given extra time and we walked out of that 3 hour experience with a surreal feeling that we had been given a very rare privilege, but staged privilege all the same.  A wined and dined experience that we know, and were told, would not happen again.  One of the prison guards even took a few photos of us giving the care packages…..  We were not searched, we were not asked for ID, we were allowed to bring our phones into the office and really we know that we were lucky to see the girls for the first time in such an environment.  We were actually a little dazed by the experience when we started our journey home and then talk through the whole experience together.  There was less laughter and jokes as we took in the gravity of the girl’s situation and processed our own thoughts. What it basically comes down to is that due to one single choice each girl made, for only they know their reasons, they now find themselves in a situation where they will spend the rest of their life inside a Kenyan prison and if they are lucky only a decade or so. 

Whether you agree with their actions, or our actions for that matter, these women deserve some basic human rights, some contact with the outside world and we are going to be their lifeline to family where we can.  We are not there to counsel them, or to provide legal advice or monetary support.  We are ladies with a heart, with compassion and care that we hope will make a little difference to their days.  I understand with them being caught, Kenya stopped around 7kg of cocaine hitting the streets, they were doing something illegal, they knew the consequences and they need to be punished for that, but that is not our job.  We are not here to judge them and we look forward to seeing them again in the near future.