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Kenya · Kiambu County
Kamiti Maximum Security Prison
prisonmaximummaleOvercrowded (257%)ModerateMedium
Verified
Very stale · 1.5y ago
Sources last reviewed on
Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
For families
How to send mail, money, and visit Kamiti Maximum Security Prison
Step-by-step guidance using the Kenya system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.
Kamiti Maximum Security Prison is a maximum-security facility operated by the Kenya Prisons Service in Kiambu County. Occupies 490 hectares near Kahawa West, Nairobi. Served as a detention facility for political prisoners in the 1980s–90s. Site of the 1957 execution of Mau Mau leader Dedan Kimathi. Known for severe overcrowding; last executions carried out in 1987.
Background
Kamiti Maximum Security Prison is a prison in Nairobi, Kenya. The prison is within Kasarani District, bordering Kiambu County. Originally named "Kamiti Downs", it sits in the middle of its own 490-hectare (1,200-acre) estates which lie fallow and untended.
Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.
Capacity
1,400
Current population
3,600
Occupancy
257%
Year opened
1955
Operational
Figures from official sources · verified 1 Jan 2025 · methodology
Facility profile
Operator
Kenya Prisons ServicePopulation held
male
Opened
1955
Region
Kiambu County
Security level
maximum
Death-row facility
No
Conditions
No conditions summary available yet.
Visiting
Visit schedules are set by each facility. Visitors must be pre-registered with the prison and are subject to security screening. Contact the facility directly or via Kenya Prisons Service HQ: [email protected].
Mailing
Address mail: [Inmate Name], [Prisoner Number], Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Kiambu County, Kenya. Include the inmate's prison number on all correspondence.
Practical info
Money can be deposited for inmates via the prison's official channels. Contact Kenya Prisons Service at +254 20 271 1400 or [email protected] for current visiting hours and inmate location queries.
Known issues
No major issues documented in our database.
Notable inmates
- Kenneth Matiba1932–2018 · politician
Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba (1 June 1932 â 15 April 2018) was a Kenyan politician and an activist for democracy who came in at second place in the 1992 presidential election.
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NgÅ©gÄ© wa Thiong'o1938–2025 · playwright- Koigi wa Wamwere1949 · politician
Koigi wa Wamwere (born 18 December 1949) is a Kenyan politician and human rights activist who served as a Member of the National Assembly for Subukia Constituency from 1979 to 1982 and from 2002 to 2007.
Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.
Contact & address
Conditions Risk Score
Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated
33/100
Moderate concern33/100
- Overcrowding
- 30/30
- Oversight reports
- 0/30
- Structural flags
- 0/15
- Death signals
- 0/15
- Conditions text
- 3/10
What the score is responding to:
- · Extreme overcrowding at 257% of capacity
- · Severe-conditions keyword in sources
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Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.
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- Embu GK Prisonmediumprison
- Shimo La Tewa PrisonMombasamediumprison
- Nyeri GK Prisonmediumprison
Data completeness
76%How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.
Sources
- Kenya Prisons Service — official website
- State Department for Correctional Services
- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation
- Kenya Prisons Service — facilities directory — Kenya Prisons Service
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata (Q11011602)
- Wikipedia
- See /data-sources for our overall methodology.
Cite this page
Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.
APA
World Prisons. (2025). Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. Retrieved July 20, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/kamiti-maximum-security-prison
Chicago
"Kamiti Maximum Security Prison." World Prisons. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/kamiti-maximum-security-prison.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-kamiti-maximum-security-pri,
author = {{World Prisons}},
title = {Kamiti Maximum Security Prison},
year = {2025},
url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/kamiti-maximum-security-prison},
urldate = {2026-07-20}
}