By Ken Muthomi - Reporter
Kenya, 10 August 2026 - The government is set to complete the first phase of transitioning prisons, nine probation institutions, and aftercare institutions across the country from biomass-based cooking to clean energy technologies this year.
According to the State Department for Correctional Services Principal Secretary Salome Beacco, the infrastructural designs for clean cooking kitchens have already been developed and are ready for implementation.
The PS has said that the department will collaborate with the State Department of Petroleum to scrutinise more options for clean cooking energy sources, including improved cookstoves, LPG reticulation systems, and hybrid solar water-heating systems that can be adopted in these facilities.
The project is set to be rolled out in Nairobi and its environs before being expanded to other correctional facilities across the country.
More from Kenya
The full transition of all 134 prisons, nine probation institutions, and aftercare institutions in the country from biomass-based cooking to clean energy technologies is expected to be complete by June 2027.
Beacco revealed the development on Monday during the fourth Clean Cooking Committee meeting.
“The committee noted that the existing kitchen infrastructure in many correctional facilities can accommodate LPG systems, making the transition easier without requiring major structural modifications,” the department stated.
“ The initiative is part of ongoing efforts to modernise correctional facilities and make a tangible difference in the lives of staff and inmates by creating a safer, healthier and more sustainable environment,” it added.
The initiative is part of the government’s effort to reduce environmental degradation, improve public health, enhance energy security, support Kenya’s low-carbon development agenda, and provide correctional institutions with more efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly energy solutions.
Earlier this year, the department revealed that the project is set to be executed in four phases, with mobilisation and baseline studies covering the first phase before infrastructure development commences.
It further noted that it will benchmark other government institutions that have already implemented the programme through the Kenya School LPG Programme, including some public boarding schools and TVET institutions.
The transition will also be fundamental in addressing the effects of climate change and boosting the government's plan to plant 15 billion trees, with correctional facilities among the biggest users of wood fuel in the country for institutional cooking.