Grandmother, 84, longs to walk out of Langata prison

Esther wa Njeri (right), the oldest prisoner at Langata Women's Prison in Nairobi, walks at the facility with its officer in charge Olivia Onyango on June 15,2017, the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Esther Wanjeri led other elderly inmates in the celebration of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, singing traditional Kikuyu songs as younger inmates danced, the joy and laughter in their eyes hiding the difficult times they go through behind the bars.
  • At 84, Njeri is the oldest inmate at the facility.
  • For the past 15 years, the prison has been her abode.

In a blue khaki dress, Esther Wanjeri is escorted by prison warders to join her fellow elderly inmates in the celebrations to mark the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day at Langata Women’s Prison. The day was June 15.

It was a special day in the life of elderly inmates at the correctional facility and Wanjeri led her peers in celebration, singing traditional Kikuyu songs as the younger inmates danced, the joy and laughter in their eyes hiding the difficult times they go through behind bars.

At 84, she is the oldest inmate at the facility. Langata Women’s Prison has been her abode for the past 15 years.

Wanjeri was arrested in 1998 alongside her daughter Lucy Wanjiku, now 38, for killing her husband.

The old man had arrived home drunk and picked a quarrel, resulting in Wanjeri and her daughter fatally injuring him. Evidence adduced showed the deceased was hit with a blunt object, killing him instantly.

GILGIL STATION

The daughter, who watched her parents fight, had also joined the fray. The mother and daughter were initially locked up at the Gilgil Police Station before being transferred to the Nakuru GK prison until 2002 when they were found guilty and handed death sentences.

“We were then transferred to Langata Women’s Prison which has since become our home given we don’t know when, or if we will ever be released to see our family members. We are only living on hope,” she says.

Wanjiku, who was 23 when they were jailed, misses her daughter, whom she has not seen for the past 15 years.

“I hear she is a big girl now, that she has finished Standard Eight. My relatives used to visit when we were still new here but they no longer come these days,” she says.

SMALL POSSIBILITY

Wanjeri, too, longs for the day she will be set free, even though the possibility of that happening is small.

“At my age, I long to be at my home, probably I will be living a better and enjoyable life with my grandchildren, but the fact that I am in jail, I have to endure the discomfort of waking up early in the morning. I also have to follow the rules,” she complains.

Life for an old person in prison, especially a woman, is never easy, says Wanjeri. With time and because of the conditions, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, memory loss, poor eyesight and depression, catch up with them.

“These diseases have not spared us because we are in prison. No. As years go by, I increasingly experience poor eyesight, pains in the joints and many others. Every time I wake up, I wish it is my last day in prison,” she says.

BIGGEST WISH

Even though she enjoys some privileges while in prison including a comfortable bed and a television set in her cell, Wanjeri’s biggest wish remains to secure her freedom and reunite with her family back in Gilgil.

“Since I came to prison, I have followed the rules, my records are clean; I have never fought with a fellow inmate. It is as a result of this that I was made a trustee, that is why I wear this blue uniform,” she says.

“I have seen young inmates come here and grow old, some of them finish their sentences and go home while others, like me, are condemned to serving a life sentence.”

Another inmate, Anastasia Munini, 62 years old, has been in the prison since 1994.

“For those years I have served my jail term, I have always asked God to forgive my sins and give me another chance,” she tells the Nation.

PERFORM DUTIES

Just like everybody else, elderly inmates like Wanjeri and Munini are required to perform some duties.

“However simple the chores may be, we find them difficult as our bodies lack the strength but we have to endure.”

Wanjeri’s and Munini’s biggest worry is losing their land to relatives and neighbours.

“The government should remember old inmates and ensure that we get the 'pesa kwa wazee' (money for the aged) because, apart from being prisoners, we are also human beings who have been transformed through the various sessions we are taken through here in jail,” Wanjeri says.

Ms Tabitha Githiga, a counsellor at the facility, advises elderly inmates to accept their condition in order to live a long and enjoyable life behind bars.