It was reported that more than 100 death row convicts...

It was reported that more than 100 death row convicts at the Kamiti Maximum Prison in Kenya were back on the streets following a landmark court ruling that they had been convicted by officers below the rank stipulated by the law. The legality of the move was now being questioned as the Penal Code stipulated that death row convicts could only be freed by a Court of Appeal or a presidential amnesty. The prison authorities used the ruling of a single appeal case in Mombasa to set free 101 death row convicts. The court freed the convicts on grounds that their case had been prosecuted by officers under the rank of inspectors. The prisoners, who had been convicted for murder and violent robberies, had all been released in the last three months. The convicts had been sentenced to death by principal, senior and chief magistrates' courts in Naivasha, Kakamega, Wajir, Maua, Meru and Kibera.