Kenyan prisoners play chess for fun behind bars and to help with rehabilitation

By DESMOND TIRO and JACK DENTON

The black-and-white stripes of Brian Gatonye’s prison uniform match the pieces staring back at him from the chessboard at Kenya’s Maranjau Prison.

The 27-year-old has served about 18 months of a three-year sentence for assault and is due to be released in November 2027.

During a break in the prison yard, he considers his next move: a pawn, perhaps, or a knight. The break isn’t long, but if he finishes the game quickly he may have time to face one of the skilled guards.

But it is unwise to rush or act impulsively — in chess as in life, he has learned.

“Chess has taught me a lot,” Gatonye said. “It has taught me (about) being calm, choosing my decisions wisely. Before doing an act, I have to think first of what the repercussions are — and then I move.”

Gatonye is among a growing number of Kenyan prisoners who have taken up chess in recent years. The game has become part of rehabilitation programs in the country’s prisons, where officials and participants say it encourages patience, problem-solving and interaction between prisoners and guards.

At Maranjau, which holds about 450 prisoners according to Superintendent Humphrey Young, some choose chess over resting or playing soccer during their free time. They are drawn by the competition and what they say the game does for their state of mind.

“Chess has become one of our integral programs,” Young said. “Some of the skills chess teaches our offenders as they reintegrate back to society is how they can improve their problem-solving processes, and how they can think around issues that affect them once they’re out.”

Chess programs have operated in some Kenyan prisons since at least 2022. The government has supported the initiative alongside the International Chess Federation, known as FIDE, Chess Kenya and The Gift of Chess, a nonprofit organization that distributes chess sets.

The game is now played in all 134 prisons in Kenya, according to Phylis Ngigi, global outreach director for The Gift of Chess.

Kenya participated for the first time in FIDE’s Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners in 2024. Competitions are also held between Kenyan prisons, while some guards have been trained as chess coaches and play alongside prisoners.

At Maranjau, Young said the games create opportunities for prisoners and guards to interact in a less formal setting.

Supporters say chess offers more than recreation. Responsibility and the ability to work with others are important elements of prison rehabilitation, said Monica Njoroge, a project officer at Resources Oriented Development Initiatives.

The Kenyan nonprofit runs farming programs in prisons, where participants tend communal gardens while learning agricultural skills that could help them find work after their release.

Njoroge is not involved in the chess program, but she frequently visits Maranjau and has watched prisoners play.

“It is a game that trains patience and also having a clear mind in making decisions, being keen on what your next move is and the consequences that will come,” she said.

Kenya’s prison chess program has not been independently studied, and its long-term effects on behavior or reoffending are unknown.

For the prisoners gathered around the boards at Maranjau, there is a simpler attraction: They enjoy the game.

“It is a social game,” said Edwin Raj Walukaya, a 31-year-old prisoner. “It gives us friends and occupies our minds.”

For Gatonye, chess has become something he hopes to carry with him beyond prison.

“After being released, I hope to continue playing chess,” he said. “It brings peace inside my mind and heart.”