Eldoret High Court Rules Poverty Is Not a Crime, Frees Man Jailed Over Sh788,961 Debt
The High Court in Eldoret has strongly ruled that poverty is not a crime. Justice Robin Nyakundi freed a man identified as Barnaba Ngeno who had been sentenced to 30 days in Eldoret GK Prison because he could not pay a debt of Sh788,961.
The judge said it was wrong and illegal for the lower court to jail someone simply because they are too poor to settle a debt.
The court found that imprisoning a debtor for failing to pay due to poverty violates their constitutional right to freedom and liberty. Justice Nyakundi criticised the lower court’s decision as irregular and unjust. He pointed out that sections of the Civil Procedure Act used to arrest and jail debtors in such cases must respect human rights and cannot be used to punish people for being poor.
This ruling has been welcomed by many as an important step in protecting vulnerable Kenyans from being criminalised for financial problems they cannot control. It sends a clear message to lower courts to stop issuing such imprisonment orders when someone genuinely cannot pay. The decision is expected to influence how debt cases are handled in the country going forward.
