Prison Commissioner comes up close with Kenya Prisons system

The Commissioner of Seychelles Prison, Raymond St Ange, left Kenya with positive vibes after coming close up with the country’s prisoner Rehabilitation programme.

He told GPS: “It was a pleasure interacting with inmates and seeing how they engaged positively and seriously on their rehabilitation program.   

“An area of interest is the Justice Defenders project where inmates study to become paralegals and by that, filing appeals and advising inmates. 

“I observed many inmates taking up courses in law, accounting, English besides the various vocational training and literacy classes. This is definitely something we should emulate in Seychelles”

Commissioner St. Ange elaborated on the system of Restorative Justice which he observed in Kenya and would like to see introduced in Seychelles. 

The guiding principles of Restorative Justice are:

1) crime is an offence against human relationships;

2) victims and the community are central to justice processes;

3) the first priority of justice processes is to assist victims;

4) the second priority is to restore the community, to the degree possible;

5) the offender has personal responsibility to victims and to the community for crimes committed;

6) stakeholders share responsibilities for restorative justice through partnerships for action; and

7) the offender will develop improved competency and understanding as a result of the restorative justice experience.

The primary stakeholders involved in the criminal justice system who would benefit from restorative justice principles include prosecutors, defense attorneys, the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, elected officials, crime victims and service providers, and corrections officials and personnel.. 

Currently there are 33 inmates on life sentence in Seychelles.  In 2022 three inmates on life sentence were granted conditional pardon after serving 24, 26, and 28 years of their respective life sentences.

The three inmates are under supervision and are reintegrating back to society with their conditional supervision expected to be completed next year July and November 2025. 

All inmates have opportunity to participate in a rehabilitation program under Project Phoenix.

It is expected that key changes in the new Prisons Act will embed Restorative Justice as fundamental part of rehabilitation and reintegration to society.