It was joy and jubilation for the family of a former teacher, who was jailed back in 2011 for 30 years after being found guilty of defiling a minor after he was released from Kibos Maximum Prison.
The man identified as Richard Orwa was initially set to serve 30 years in prison but had his sentence reduced to ten after appealing successfully.
Yesterday he was overjoyed as he basked in the sun and yelled in joy as he walked past the Kibos Maximum Prison gates in Kisumu.
While addressing the media outside the prison, Orwa said he was remorseful for what happened.
He said he found himself in the incident and has since served behind bars for a decade.
In the first count, he revealed that he was convicted for defilement after being found guilty while the other count was for abuse of authority.
“Defilement gave me 20 years while abuse of office gave me 10 years. I was devastated and did not know what to do then I decided to try my luck in appealing,” he said.
In March 2016, the former teacher said he moved to the high court to present his appeal, but it was dismissed.
He did not lose hope and in 2017, he said he proceeded to Kenya courts where he appealed, but it did also not bear any fruits.
“I never lost hope, and I am so grateful to the administration of prison for the support they gave me especially the documentation office where I applied for my petition until my sentence was reduced from 30 years to 20 years,” he said.
He also lauded the judiciary for listening to his plea after he was remorseful for his deeds.
With tears of joy flowing uncontrollably, Orwa promised to be an obedient citizen throughout his life after facing the wrath of the law.
“Today I am living this prison. I came in as a lawbreaker and I want to promise the nation that I will remain loyal and serve the nation throughout my life,” he said.
The 48-year-old father of five told us that he is going to apply the tailoring and carpentry skills that he acquired at the prison to make ends meet for his family who stood firmly with him.
“I am now heading to my home in Homabay County and I hope my family is going to welcome me back,” he said.
His wife Monica Akinyi said that ever since her husband was jailed, life has not been easy for her as he left their five children behind even before they joined high school.
“I have been overwhelmed with school fees, but I thank God I managed where I can to ensure that our children were in school,” she said.
She added that she has also faced a lot of discrimination from members of the community with others refraining from talking to her.
On her side, Beverly Lung’asa, a senior superintendent officer in charge of Kibos Prison praised Orwa for always being disciplined.
She said she noticed Orwa immediately when she was appointed to be the officer in charge and promoted him to be the person in charge of cleaning.
“He was a respectful man full of discipline and when I came here early last year, I was informed that he was jailed for 30 years, but his sentence reduced to 10 years after appealing successfully,” she said.
She added, “that Orwa has been a good mentor to other prisoners and has never broken any prison rules since he was convicted as his prison files are clean as he leaves the prison walls.”
