Kenyan government officials are working to abolish the nation’s death penalty and replace the punishment with life in prison. The recommendation is currently under review by Kenya’s constitutional review conference, a body comprised of members of parliament, professional bodies and religious and civic leaders. Kenya has not had an execution since 1987, but 2,618 people remain on the nation’s death row. Kenya’s assistant minister for home affairs, Wilfred Machage, noted, “The practice has been used worldwide in the past but latest trends show that it is an abuse of an individual’s right to life and it is not part of the measures that can help a convict fit in society because they will be dead.” (ITV.com, October 15, 2003) See International Death Penalty.

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