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When a Mother is Imprisoned, a Child Misses More Than Time
When Maria was arrested in November 2024, she was accused of stealing a phone from her employer, an allegation she strongly denies. For Maria, the accusation was not only false, but it came after she had demanded fair pay for work beyond her role as a house help. What should have been a straightforward case stretched on for months. Unable to afford the Ksh. 30,000 cash bail, Maria remained in custody for nearly a year, far longer than such cases usually take to resolve in Kenya’s justice system.
The consequences were devastating. Maria’s health deteriorated under the strain, requiring psychiatric treatment and ongoing counselling support from our social worker. But the effects did not stop with her. Her only son, Joshua, also carried the heavy cost of his mother’s imprisonment.
Joshua has always been a gifted student, excelling in school under the Equity Wings to Fly program. When Maria was remanded, he had just completed his high school exams and earned a place at Kenyatta University. This was meant to be a a milestone moment, a day where his mother would proudly walk him through the doors of higher education as the first in their family to join university. Dressed in her favourite Kitenge dress and a bright smile flashing across her face that cannot fade.
Alas, this was not to be, as Maria was not there. Instead, Joshua began his university journey alone, carrying not just the weight of academic expectations but also the pain of his mother’s absence. He lives in hostels with no relatives to turn to, or a home to go back to go to during these breaks. When challenges like a looming lecturers’ strike arise, his thoughts remain with his mother’s wellbeing. What should have been a season of joy and new beginnings became a time marked by worry and longing.
Maria missed her son’s university admission, a moment she had worked and sacrificed for. And Joshua missed the reassurance of his mother’s presence at a defining point in his life. These are the unseen costs of prolonged and unjust detention: birthdays missed, milestones overshadowed, and bonds strained by separation.
At Justice Nest, we stand with families like Maria and Joshua because their story is a reminder that justice is not only about courtrooms, it is about lives, futures, and relationships. Since we intervened, Maria’s case has finally moved forward after months of delay and is now nearing its conclusion. We continue to walk with her and her son through legal support, counselling, and family empowerment, determined that justice will not only be done but that dignity and hope will be restored.
Because when a mother is imprisoned, a child misses more than time, they miss moments that can never be lived twice.
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