Wrongly jailed for years, man keeps youth off crime

By Macharia Mwangi

At 6 foot 4 inches, his towering frame is imposing, almost intimidating.

And just like his physique, Peter Ouko stands head and shoulders above his peers, especially when it comes to reforming hard-core criminals.

It is a journey that started when he was wrongly imprisoned more than two decades ago.

Behind the steel bars, he at times felt he had reached the end of his tether. He, nevertheless, soldiered on, always keeping hope alive.

Prison not only opened his eyes to the lot that inmates have to contend with, but a chat with him also leaves no doubt that the affable founder of Crime Si Poa organisation oozes Solomonic wisdom, perhaps also cultivated within the humbling prison walls.

The name of his organisation loosely translates to ‘crime is a despicable thing’. It is a mantra that seems to fuel his dedication to the transformation of young people who are hooked on crime. It is a passionate engagement that has made Crime si Poa a household name in correctional services’ circles around the country.

Broke his heart

Watching young inmates walk through prison gates always broke his heart.

He harbours vivid memory of a teenager he refers to only as Kiarie, who was jailed when he was barely out of his teens. Sadly, the boy died while trying to secure his freedom in the corridors of justice.

After his release in 2016, Mr Ouko has continued with the initiative he founded in 2006, when he was put behind bars. He has been traversing all corners of the country, imploring young criminals to abandon their rebellious ways.

On Wednesday, he pitched camp in Nakuru, where cases of criminal gangs are hogging the headlines and young people dominate social media pages for the wrong reasons.

During the open forum, Mr Ouko sat pensively, listening to youths narrate escapades that put their lives on the line despite the machismo they exhibit.

“In such an instance, I just go ‘live’,” says Mr Ouko, meaning letting those who have been jailed for similar offences narrate their stories.

“The tell-it-all moment and the confessions of ex-convicts on their near brushes with death resonate with the young criminals,” he added.

Reform

Once he has captured their attention, Mr Ouko encourages the young criminals to reform, lead upright lives and find a way of earning an honest living.

During the Nakuru open forum, a young man who was previously involved in crime aptly captured the nexus between crime and poverty. “If I had a daily income of Sh150, I would comfortably feed my family and keep off crime,” the young family man said to Mr Ouko.

He painted a clear picture of how heart-breaking it was walking back to his house in the evening to find his family hungry.

“That is what drove me to crime,” the young man explained.

Saved many

 Mr Ouko’s listening ear has saved many from the bullet. He acknowledges, too, that many people are only involved in “opportunistic crimes”.

“Just grant them opportunities and they will steer away from crime. We need not condemn them unheard,” he says.

The humorous, born-again Christian is at his best describing some of his colleagues who are assisting in the awareness initiative.

“We do not refer to them as ex-convicts…we call them returning citizens, having arrived from the Diaspora,” he reveals amid laughter, explaining that ‘diaspora’ is a common term in prison lingo.

Mr Ouko and his colleagues are in the process of setting up legal awareness desks in Shofco offices in Nairobi, Kisumu and Mombasa. In partnership with several organisations, they have set up IT training centres in crime-prone areas. “We also visit schools and educate learners on the dangers of drug and substance abuse. This has helped break social barriers,” he added.

 “Our aim is to mobilise communities to build ownership around safety, justice and socio-economic issues. We, therefore, primarily focus on discouraging at-risk and vulnerable youths from engaging in criminal activities,” he added.

A former Naivasha Maximum Security Prison officer, retired senior assistant commissioner Patrick Mwenda, hailed Mr Ouko’s influence behind prison walls.

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