NAIROBI SEPTEMBER 26, 2017(CISA) – Bishop Alfred Rotich, Bishop Emeritus of Military Ordinariate on September 23 opened St Teresa of Calcutta Chapel at Kamiti Medium Security Prison in Nairobi.
The chapel that was built at a cost of KSh 3.5 Million (USD 338 000) has a capacity of holding up to 300 people.
“The presence of the chapel in the prison is a symbol of faith where the offenders can look up to. It is also for the interest of the church in transforming the offenders’ lives,” said Fr Peter Kimani, The Principal Chaplain of the Kenya Prisons.
“The moment these offenders are together as Christians inside the prisons, they are very committed in faith and some of them continue with the same zeal as Christians even outside the prison walls. This is exactly what we intend to achieve by constructing the chapel,” said Fr Kimani in a phone interview with CISA.
According to Fr Kimani, the construction of the chapel was mainly financed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany.
The other chapel at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison was built in 1954 with a capacity of 200 people. It serves over 300 inmates and over 800 security personnel, drawn from various Christian denominations.
In Kamiti Prison, Mass is conducted every Sunday by the Principal Chaplain and on Wednesdays and Fridays by assistant chaplains. Confessions are done during the week and occasionally the chaplaincy invites a bishop to conduct confirmation.
