Newly released Mwangaza Schools Director, Hussein Hassan Ali, has appealed to Chief Justice Martha Koome to visit Kamiti Maximum Security Prison and witness firsthand the conditions of elderly inmates and those living with disabilities including the physically impaired, mentally ill, and blind prisoners. He urged the Chief Justice to initiate reforms that would help such inmates reintegrate with their families and communities.
Speaking to the media shortly after his release, Hussein expressed deep gratitude to the High Court for overturning his conviction. He described his imprisonment as a harrowing experience, saying he suffered greatly for what he claimed was a false accusation. Hussein was sentenced to 35 years in 2023 by a Garissa Magistrate’s Court after being convicted of sodomy and defilement a charge he insists was fabricated by a student he had disciplined.
“I really suffered because of atlist disciplining and streamlining my own student, but all in all, man has to undergo test and am here today to thank my Lord, my family members and my Lawyer and a special gratitude goes to Justice Alexander Muteti for atlist going through my file and seeing the truth for himself, and it is really God who guided him to give me my justice and see me out of prison…” Said Hussein.
Overcome with emotion, Hussein celebrated regaining his freedom after spending two years behind bars, stating that the wrongful conviction felt like a lifetime sentence despite his constant awareness of his innocence.
As the director of Mwangaza Schools which serves more than 3,000 students in both primary and secondary sections Hussein maintained that his actions were in line with his responsibilities as an educator. He claimed that his efforts to discipline and guide students were misinterpreted and manipulated by external influences.
Despite the ordeal, Hussein said he has chosen forgiveness.
“I have forgiven those who used my student to frame me. That student is still one of mine, and if he ever needs help, I’ll be ready to assist him,” he added.
Reflecting on his time at Kamiti, Hussein said he met numerous inmates who had been incarcerated since as far back as 1988, many of whom are elderly and claim to have been wrongly imprisoned. He emphasized the urgent need for judicial attention to these cases, especially for inmates with special needs.
He concluded by making a heartfelt plea to Chief Justice Koome to personally visit the facility and explore ways of delivering justice and support to the most vulnerable prisoners.
Hussein, the Director of Mwangaza schools was arraigned in court November 2021 after his form two male student accused him of defiling him.
In his defence, Hussein said that he tried to punish his student as a teacher after finding him with a mobile phone contrary to the school’s rules.
He said it was as a result of disciplining his student that he chose to frame him.
The trial Magistrate at Garissa heard not of his defence and in 2023, the Court sentenced him to serve 35 years in prison.
He moved to the High Court in Garissa, but the said court recused itself after external forces, allegedly from those who framed him made some unlawful interference.
The file was then forwarded to Nairobi, Milimani High Court.
And on Thursday June 12, 2025 Justice Alexander Muteti sitting at Milimani High Court in Nairobi ruled that the trial Magistrate in Garissa erred in its judgment by heavily relying on the victim’s testimony without sufficiently corroborating evidence.
The Judge specifically noted that the prosecution had failed to conclusively establish one of the key elements of defilement: penetration.
Concluding his judgment, Justice Muteti stated: “After a thorough review of the entire case, this court finds the conviction unsafe. Accordingly, both the conviction and the 35-year sentence are hereby set aside.”
