The study examined the association between custodial rehabilitation and recidivism of
male prisoners in Kenya. Fieldwork was conducted at Nairobi Remand Prison in Nairobi
County. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which vocational
rehabilitation programmes; faith-based spiritual programs and peer counselling services
influence recidivism of male prisoners in Kenya. Data was obtained through survey
questionnaires and through key informant interviews. Purposive sampling was used to
arrive at the sample size. Key informants were chosen based on their experience of
supervising custodial rehabilitation programs in the correctional facility.
Quantitative and Qualitative data was obtained through survey and key informant
interviews. It was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version
21 and presented in the form of frequencies tables, bar graph and pie chart. The findings
of the study indicate that vocational, peer counselling and faith based rehabilitation
programs significantly contribute to recidivism reduction in Kenyan prisons by 72.3%,
21.1% and 18.1% respectively. The study recommends that there is need to improve
existing rehabilitation programs in Kenyan male correctional facilities as recidivism is a
common phenomenon among male prisoners. The study further recommends that similar
researches be conducted on increased geographical scope in order to validate themes
found in the current study