Raising children b*********s is our biggest regret
She wanted to accord her children a better life, but the long arm of the law caught up with her. Another woman longed to be with her husband abroad, which was never to be. These are some of the stories of mothers at Lang’ata Womens Prison
“I always blame myself for being the reason my child started off her life in prison,” Lillian Nyatumbo says as she nurses her seven-month-old baby.
She was one month pregnant when she was sent to Lang’ata Womens Prison for drug trafficking. She is serving a 31-year sentence after she was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with narcotics. On the day of the arrest, Lillian was travelling to visit her husband who was working abroad, and recalls carrying some luggage for a friend who requested she gives it to her cousin oblivious of the contents. The court verdict meant she would give birth and nurture her child while still serving the sentence.
Ashamed as a mother
“I am still apprehensive about the day she will discover her mother is in prison for drug trafficking. If it was something I was guilty of, I would be less anxious,” Lillian says.
Being a parent in prison, Lillian says, is tough. “I knew from the day I landed here that I may not be in the best position to raise a child. Things are done in a routine. There is time to eat and time to take baths and you need to follow the rules. This can be challenging since babies have no clue about such rules,” she says.
Despite the toys, and the bright coloured children themed painting on the wall, the daycare where most of the children spend the better part of their day is recognisably a prison. This fact is made clear by the correctional officers stationed just at the entrance. Lillian admits prison is almost certainly not one of the best places to raise a child, but says it is better than being separated from them.
It is not any different for Wambui Karuri, who joined the facility early this year with her seven-month-old baby. She was convicted for selling bhang. She says being incarcerated with her child was tough in the beginning, but they have adapted to it.
“It was difficult in the beginning, but we somehow got used to it eventually. He would not eat the food offered here and had constipation since the diet was relatively new to him. Other times he would cry demanding my attention, but I couldn’t hold him while working,” she recalls.
Wambui’s shame is visibly clear on her face. All she ever wanted, as a parent was to give her children the best life had to offer. “I always kept on saying I would not raise my children the way I was and I know I have fallen short of my words and intents. It is sad that it took prison for me to realise how much my children needed a mother,” she says.
According to Rhoda Akinyi, officer in charge, Lang’ata Womens Prison, the correctional facility is home to 39 children, some born there, while others tagged along after their mothers were arrested. “Women who give birth in our facility do not have to hand over their babies to their relatives or children’s home immediately, unlike in some prisons where mothers do that few hours after delivery. For some mothers, even those with short sentences, these separations has a long-lasting effect on the babies. Here, we allow mothers to be with their children until they turn four. The initiative has created a special bond between mothers and their children,” says Akinyi.
Separated at four years
She explains that babies are separated with their mothers when they turn four years mainly because they are at a stage where they tend to understand their surrounding. She, however, suggests the age limit be reduced to two years, noting the longer the child stays in the facility, the higher the risk of exposure to danger.
If the mum states there is no one to take care of the child outside the facility, the administration partners with a children’s home that can take them in until the parent is released. The child can also be given out to someone reliable to help bring it up until the parent is released.
Evidently, the seclusion create a sense of community— the mothers trade advice and baby sit for one another when they are engaged in activities such as studing in the library or attend to other duties.
