Kenya Signs Prisoners Swap Deal with Mozambique

The Kenyan government signed a deal with Mozambique on Wednesday to transfer sentenced persons between the two nations.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua confirmed the agreement reached with Veronica Macamo, his Mozambican counterpart aims to establish a smooth process for the extradition of convicted persons, ensuring seamless cooperation between the two countries.

This agreement is part of a broader Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation (JPCC) between Kenya and Mozambique.

Additionally, both countries have mutually agreed upon legal assistance in criminal matters.

“Later, we jointly held a Ministerial Segment of the 2nd Kenya-Mozambique JPCC and signed eight instruments of cooperation in the areas of Transport, Blue Economy, Energy, Agriculture, Defense, Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Transfer of Sentenced Persons as well as Public Service Training,” he said in a tweet.

This implies that if a Kenyan citizen faces an indictment in a criminal investigation in Mozambique, the foreign affairs ministry will readily provide all requested information related to the case.

It is not clear how many Kenyan prisoners are in Mozambican jails. It is also not clear how many Mozambicans are in Kenyan jails.

Mutua called upon the respective Ministries to work collaboratively, exert more effort on fast-tracking action and implementation of the agreed areas of cooperation by putting in place robust follow-up, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to review the progress on the deliverables agreed upon.