Buke Shocks World After Celebrating Son’s 4-year Jail Term

By Our Correspondent

Activist Wafula Buke has stunned Kenyans after publicly celebrating the jailing of his 21-year-old son, saying prison was necessary for rehabilitation following a conviction for preparation to commit a felony.

In widely shared Facebook posts, Buke disclosed that his son, Declan, had been sentenced to four years in prison. He said he had expected a longer term.

“My son Declan was jailed for 4 years yesterday,” Buke wrote. “Considering how I have known him, he badly needed to go to jail.”

The outspoken campaigner said he believed seven years would have ensured “full rehabilitation” but accepted the magistrate’s decision to impose a shorter custodial sentence.

“I thought he needed 7 years for full rehabilitation but the magistrate gave him less,” he added. “Friends wish my son quick rehabilitation.”

Buke said his son was not entirely responsible for his predicament, citing challenges linked to single parenthood and what he described as an absent father.

“He is not entirely responsible for his predicament. Single parenthood messed him a bit,” he wrote, adding that at 21, there was still hope for recovery.

In a second post, Buke defended his decision to speak publicly about the case, saying it was part of accepting responsibility as a parent.

“Parading my son’s predicament is not an orgasmic experience. It is a painful exercise of responsibility to society,” he said.

He also suggested that being in prison offered his son protection from possible extrajudicial harm, stating that as a prisoner, he was safe from “a flying squad bullet.”

The posts drew mixed reactions online, with some praising Buke’s candour and others questioning the public disclosure of private family matters.

Buke said he had been invited to discuss the issue on television but declined, citing personal reservations.

“My son Declan will be back,” he wrote. “I will help him, assisted by prison to become likable again if he cooperates.”