Mourice Achola has been serving in the Kenya Prisons for 16 years, giving him the eye and time to study his workstation.
“I joined the Kenyan Prisons Service in December 2008 through a competitive recruitment in Kariokor, Nairobi,” Mourice, 36, says as he retraces his steps.
While serving at the Nairobi Medium Prison, Mourice who is mono-eyed realised a deaf and mute inmate faced a lot of challenges within the facility.
“Because I am a person with disability, who is mono-eyed, it was easy for me to notice the challenges he was going through. But I didn’t see it as a big issue because there were civilian sign language interpreters called justice defenders at the facility. They were available on a need basis and majorly came from an NGO that had partnered with the Kenya Prisons,” he explains.
"Mourice Achola trained in sign language with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities and became Kenya's first sign language interpreter for correctional officers."
Mourice developed low vision in his left eye due to an anti-riot scuffle in Nairobi where the officers were pelted with rocks.
When he was transferred to his current station – Busia Prisons in 2020— he realised that there was an urgent need for sign language interpreters given the high number of hearing-impaired and mute inmates.
“They were isolated because nobody understood their language. There were no sign language interpreters around, so a lot of inmates would request their relatives to come and assist. Most of them never made it due to distance,” he says.
Unlike Nairobi, the Busia facility had no justice defenders, and as “civilians, they don’t experience the day-to-day biases prisoners with disabilities face. Their aid only comes up to the point at which they are informed by the prison’s authority”.
This bleak situation pushed Mourice to train in sign language with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, becoming the first-ever Kenyan correctional service officer sign language interpreter.
“After my training, I wrote to the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, requesting training of more correctional officers. So far, more than 90 have been trained. The Council has also upscaled its sponsorship to prison officers”.
In 2023, Mourice was recognised as a hero during the Mashujaa Day celebrations for selflessly rendering sign language interpretation services to prisoners.
By taking this bold step, he became a key bridge between the inmates and prisons administration, thus ensuring effective communication, fair treatment, and social justice for those behind bars.
“At Busia Main Prison, we now have a disability desk tasked with disability mainstreaming and inclusion, thereby making the process of rehabilitation easier. The main duty of prisons is to contain offenders in human-safe conditions in order to facilitate rehabilitation, social reintegration, and community protection.”
Mourice is now helping prisoners with disability to register with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities so they can access the benefits, including getting tools of trade which will be beneficial to them when they leave prison.
For his services, the Public Service Commission (PSC) awarded Mourice the 2023 Public Service Emerging Leaders Fellowship, becoming the first prisons officer to get the recognition.
“The Fellowship is a premier leadership development programme run by the PSC, Emerging Public Leaders, and Emerging Leaders Foundation-Africa with Chandler Institute of Governance as the curriculum developers. It is targeted at creating a new generation of ethical leaders in Kenya’s public service.