Babu Pushes for Clearing Petty Crime Records
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino during a press briefing on justice reforms.
By Wendy Sheilla
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has called for the removal of criminal records for Kenyans convicted of petty offences, arguing that the justice system should rehabilitate offenders rather than condemn them to a lifetime of stigma.
Speaking to the press, Babu said minor crimes such as creating disturbance during protests should not permanently lock out citizens from employment opportunities once they have served their sentences.
“Even if you changed, the main reason for justice is to rehabilitate. You’ve already been punished, you’ve served. After clearing, you’re told you can’t get a job because of the certificate you get. Even petty offences, if you go for protests and that criminal record is there, nobody will employ you,” he stated.
He warned that retaining such records only fuels discrimination and prevents successful reintegration into society. According to him, this stigma pushes some former offenders to commit new crimes intentionally so they can return to prison.
“Those are cases where criminal records must be expunged and a Kenyan left to be clean. Otherwise it will create stigma. People will commit more crimes because they fear they cannot be integrated back into society. Some will even offend so that they can go back to prison where there’s free food, free security, and accommodation,” Babu said.
The legislator also criticised the government’s plan to compensate families of people killed during protests, accusing it of being politically motivated.
“You’ve been fighting agencies in court, and the government now says they want to compensate, but we have never seen someone arrested for killing youths who were protesting. Compensation is not wrong, but compensation for the sake of politics is wrong,” he said.
Babu insisted that no amount of money could replace a lost life and called for genuine accountability.
“The families who lost their loved ones will never get them back. How can you quantify the life of a person? What the president is doing should be done fast so families can have some financial stability, but you cannot replace a lost life. We don’t want to encourage him to be killing people to compensate. He’s the chief terrorist, spreading acts of terror, yet he wants to charge others with terrorism,” he claimed.
The MP further accused President William Ruto of intimidating ordinary Kenyans instead of addressing their concerns.
“You cannot scare a person who has nothing to lose. You can scare your ministers because you can sack them, but why scare people who just want jobs, lower cost of living, lower taxes, and school fees so they can complete their studies? Some of us cannot be scared. No matter where you go, we cannot fear. Everybody will exit this earth through death,” he said.
Babu also rejected a bill by Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chair George Murugara that proposes giving the president powers to appoint senior counsel.
Babu’s remarks come at a time when the country is debating police accountability, protest-related deaths, and calls for justice reforms to improve offender rehabilitation and integration.
