Rule 71(3) of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states, ‘sufficient work of a useful nature shall be provided to keep prisoners actively employed for a normal working day’ In Kenya, during their period of incarceration inmates are required to undergo suitable rehabilitation programmes including vocational education and training. All these activities are aimed at equipping the inmates with necessary skills that would enable them to actively participate in positive socio-economic engagements upon release.

In most cases the problem encountered in prison rehabilitation and skill acquisition processes is that they mostly involve the production of goods for internal prison consumption or display. Sometimes, while the prison officers complain about the low quality of products, inmates tend to see the labor they provide as demeaning and unproductive since they do not feel they are making a reasonable impact. On the other hand, in Kenya, prisons produce goods used by the general public. A typical example of such products is the Vehicle Number Plates used in Kenya, Household furniture, toiletries, among others.

The Kenya Prison Service is the manufacturer of every plate number used within the country and products created in the prisons are displayed for public purchase at the Kenya Prison Service Headquarters in Nairobi. This provides inmates the opportunity of not just practicing the skills they have acquire but also to never doubt that such skills will enable their active participation in the society and survival upon release.

Inmate employment described by the UNSMR is expected to be active and useful. Active employment is achieved when the inmates feel they have made an impact within the society. Since the public deems it fit to purchase these products, their quality is not in doubt. Prison inmates no longer focus on themselves as ostracized individuals but rather they see themselves as important contributors in the economic development of the nation.

Prisoners are provided with the opportunity for useful employment through the option of serving their sentence in the economic development process of the Country. This practice is managed by the Prisons service and focuses more on the vocational training of inmates rather than financial profit (as stipulated in Rule 72(2)) thereby making it a process in line with the UNSMR as well as a sustainable one.