NEWS

Kenya Prison Uses Mindfulness to Reduce Violence and Bridge Gap Between Guards and Inmates

By Anne Wisman | | Buddhistdoor Global

Naivasha GK, Kenya’s largest maximum-security prison located just north of the capital Nairobi, is using a mindfulness training program to control violence and bring inmates and guards closer together. Tensions were rife within Naivasha GK, where more than 2,000 men are serving life sentences or awaiting the death penalty. The prison is known as a hotbed of violence and, with the colonial-era facilities operating at well over 100 per cent capacity, the conditions are harsh and unremitting. Numerous instances have been reported of prisoners attacking wardens—as many inmates carried an intense hatered for the guards, whom they see as symbols of the authority that put them in prison—and of guards torturing inmates, leading to a constant state of pressure and despair. In an attempt to deflate tensions and improve the atmosphere, the prison has sought the help of an unlikely source of solace: mindfulness. Dr. Inmaculada Adarves-Yorno, a lecturer in leadership studies at Britain’s University of Exeter, introduced the idea to the prison’s management. The mindfulness program seeks to improve prison culture by inspiring the inmates to become mindful leaders.