OUR APRIL PRISON RUN WAS FULL OF SURPRISES

EVERY TIME we go to the Langata Women’s Maximum Prison to visit the 6 South African women, we never know what to expect.  There seems there is always new staff, new or varied procedures and it really is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.  We normally only have 4 women we visit, as we have not been able to see the 5^th woman, who has been convicted and now resides in the maximum security section of the prison.  But there has been another South African woman who was caught with drug making materials in early March and now makes the band of women stand at 6.  It is heartbreaking to know there is another woman, and we hope with us posting and sharing their stories, it may make someone else think before making a life altering choice, whether it be a Kenyan jail, or in another foreign country.  I read the other day that Kenya is identified as a drug transport hub for drugs going to Europe from Asia and the Middle East. Hardly a week passes without an arrest of drug traffickers at the main airport, JKIA.  Most of the narcotics that are seized are cocaine and heroin and statistics show that police at the airport seized drugs valued more than 16.4 million dollars last year alone. And most of those arrested were passengers who were on transit.  According to latest police statistics, some 1,359 cases of drug trafficking were detected in Kenya in 2014 and 1,513 suspects arrested.

Thank goodness we have managed to find a quicker way to get to the prison, which is perfect timing as just this week, traffic conditions have changed on a few of the main arteries in Nairobi, and to say that this week the traffic has been a nightmare is an understatement.  Well not that we have experienced it as such, as we live on the ‘other’ side of town, but I have seen on many, many NES posts from people sitting in traffic for up to 3-5 hours – ONE WAY, only travelling a few kilometers.  So I think our new route, which has actually only just been completed, is called the southern bypass and it basically cuts down our trip from a 90 minute ride to around a 40-50 minute journey, one way.  It was a wonderful drive, the road is new, and not a lot of traffic and you literally could have been on any major highway in the world, very UNLIKE the normal Kenyan roads and traffic.

There are 3 procedures we have seen to just enter the prison.  Yes we can enter with the car, no we cannot enter with the car, ID must be left, no ID required, your ID must be left etc…..  Barr our first visit, we have always driven through the gates, we insist on this throwing a few of the staff’s names to get us onto the property and today was no different.  We were required to show our ID which was given back and we were allowed to drive through.  The remand center is one of the first buildings you get to after entering.  You drive down a dirt rocky road, passing other inmates, guards and staff on their days off, as they are required to live onsite in staff quarters due to security.  The car park seemed busier than usual, but we found a park out the front of the school and with our monthly supplies in hand for the girls we headed to the visitors window.  There were prisoners washing the entrance to the remand centre, so we were asked to wait 10 minutes until they finished and then we would be able to see the girls.  Surprisingly 10 minutes later another Madam came over and told us we would be required to go back to the front gate, get the women’s names written on a piece of paper, and to come back and THEN we would be able to see them.  We have NEVER had to do this before, though we have always been asked for a piece of paper but always were able to blow it off.  Not this time.  All the staff we knew from previous visits were not around and realizing we would have to get this piece of paper to see the girls, we grabbed our ID’s from the car and walked the short distance back to the front gate.  We were met by a young guard, who asked for our ID and when we gave him our Kenyan DL, he asked where our passports were and we told him they were locked up safely at home and he just nodded and proceeded to write the names on a small piece of scrap paper, told us to collect our ID’s on our way out and we walked back to the remand centre in the hope that we wouldn’t have to wait too long to see them this trip.

Surprisingly (again) we only had to wait 5 minutes and the girls were bough to the window.  There were so many new staff; Jax and I were trying to keep track of all the new names, so next visit we could throw them around.  Our main lady Madam JNE, was on the afternoon shift, but out of all the staff we have dealt with she has been the most caring, compassionate and understanding, so it was a blow when we found out she wasn’t there.  In saying that things always happen for a reason and we met Madam E and Madam P, and they were just so nice to us, from talking to us, letting us spend more time with the girls than the allotted 5 minutes this trip, to letting hand cream and shampoo through the security check this time, that wasn’t allowed through last time.  Considering everything, the girls all look well.  Ms P has recovered from her malaria, Miss ASH has had a growth removed from her face last week and Ms A was in a better medical frame of mind, so all round the girls were faring ok.  Not to minimalize the situation they are in, as I am sure there are some horror stories they could tell on their day to day activities and I hope that one day they will share some of them with us, but in the meantime we can only go on face value, and face value they were holding up.  Our packages of soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, toilet paper, writing pad, shampoo and skin lotion always seems to pep them up and there was a letter from home for one of the girls.  It may seem insignificant to us, these things that we take for granted, but for them, it makes their living nightmare a little more bearable.   

It can get a little busy as Jax and I try and talk to all 5 women.  They ask how we are, our families, they ALWAYS say thank-you and there is a lot of handholding through the chicken wire window.  It has been a few months since we have been able to see the women in a room and offer them heartfelt hugs, but the alternative of not seeing them at all, we will take a chicken window touch any day.  Last visit we had left money for the 6^th woman in maximum security and it was welcome news that one of the girls had seen her last week and mentioned that she had actually received the money.  While we were on a roll, we asked if we could see Miss L, who we hadn’t seen since our first visit back in early January, and for the third time, surprisingly shocked we were told it shouldn’t be a problem!  We couldn’t believe our luck.  We ask each visit to see Ms L and it is always a firm no, so maybe having the staff shift around has finally worked in our favor.  There are 3 other ladies, besides us, who each donate a 1000KSH (12AUD) for each woman to put onto their prison accounts.  They can then use this money to buy food like biscuits, samosas and chocolates from the prison shop.  We started doing this when they stopped us bringing in chocolate bars for the girls and any other treats we tried to bring each month.  So after obtaining receipts for each woman we were told to say goodbye to the girls.  We actually met one of the Madam’s who actually looks after the children in the school on site.  As they were on school holidays, she gets shifted into the remand centre until she is required back at the end of the school holidays.  So after talking with her, we will bring a supply of school supplies, clothes, snacks and anything else we can get our hands on in the next few weeks.  She said they have around 40 children during class aged between 3 years and 6 years, so we will put the word out and if nothing I have a bunch of newly donated toys we can take and biscuits we can take on our next visit for the school.   

We were then escorted by Madam P to the Deputy Officer in Charge to get final permission to see Ms L and for her to also check some letters that the girls had written for their families.  Out of the 5 letters written, only 2 of them were approved as the other 3 had ‘lies’ about the prison and were not allowed to be given to us.  I guess the girls are just writing about their day, the harshness of living in a prison, a foreign prison and the powers to be don’t want that shared with the outside world.  We never get to see or read the prohibited letters, so we really aren’t sure what is contained in them and at the end of the day, we only want to bring and take what we are allowed within the rules of the prison.  After the letters were checked we again asked if we were allowed to see Ms L while we were here and we pretty much got a yes straight away! 

This would have to rank as one of the best visits we have ever had.  The maximum security section is located next to the Administration building that we were in, so with a hearty hand shake with the Deputy Officer in Charge (Madam E) we walked the 20m to the front window of the maximum security jail.  Needless to say that small piece of paper we need from the front gate to see inmates was not required to see Ms L, which makes no sense really as she is in the maximum section, you would think it would be more required here.  We weren’t going to argue, but it is a perfect example on the non-existent procedures they have in place.  It was here Madam P left us to take the approved letters back to the remand centre to get the stamp of approval, literally they have to be inked stamped, and we would collect them after our visit to Ms L.  Within 5 minutes Ms L was standing in front of us and the first thing I thought was she looked wonderful.  It is a weird word to use for some-one, who has a life sentence in a Kenyan jail, but from the last time we saw her, she was radiating, she looked well and seemed to be in a better frame of mind.  She took both our hands immediately and we were able to see her for around for 10 minutes.  We asked her if she needed anything, with the usual hygiene requests, underwear etc…. which we actually still had her very first care package from January that she wasn’t allowed to have, so we told her we would bring it next time, and she told us she got the 1000KSH we left for her last time which she used on medication.  We asked her what medication she needed, which was something for ulcers, so we asked if she could go to the prison nurse now, to get a prescription and we would get that filled for her so she could use her money on other things.  Ms L rushed off and was back within 10 minutes with a slip of paper and the required medication written on it and with a wave and a smile and a promise we would see her in a few weeks, not only did we make her day, she also made mine.  Part of the reason that Ms L was convicted, was she had no money for a lawyer, and was convicted without legal representation.  Again we have not heard her story, but I really hope we get to hear them someday, to give us an insight into the reason why.  Why did they make such a risky choice?  What was happening in their lives to make them that desperate?  I am sure it is not a choice they made lightly or out of any other reason than desperation.  One day I hope they will comfortable enough to share that with us.

There is SO much more that could be written.  From the relationships of the women in the jail, the stories that we hear from other visitors, the interaction we have with the staff and their own comments and requests, but for the sake of, well everything. It is not worth posting on this forum.  With the departure of my great friend next month, Jax, our next visit to the prison in a few weeks will be the last one for her.  It will be difficult for her as well as the women saying goodbye, but I know that Jax will continue to fight for their cause back in South Africa and I will continue my visits, whether it be on my own or finding some-one else who would want to come with me.  We did ask the Madam’s if we could bring cake next trip in celebration of Jax departure, but it was a pretty solid no, but on a side note said that biscuits would be accepted with open arms, staff included!  We get the drift. 

On our drive back home-the NEW way, which only took 30 minutes, Jax and I talked about making a Facebook page to share the girl’s plight, their story and if possible try and raise some money for their legal fees in the coming months.  If we don’t get anybody donating, this is okay, you never know unless you ask and if we can share their stories and save just one person from doing the same thing, then just the page itself will be worth the time.  We will speak to the girls about it next time we see them, seek their permission to put them personally on the site and hopefully get a photo and a small blurb from them, writing it themselves.   The more we get their stories out there, you just never know who may be able to come in and help, by any means, any tiny bit of help is greatly magnified and muchly appreciated.