A 100-year-old woman was released from prison in the central Kenyan town of Embu, where she was serving a three-month sentence for illegal appropriation of land, after a campaign on social media platforms called for her release, media reported on Friday.
Hundreds of users from social networks showed their solidarity with the campaign by sharing the hashtag, #SaveJailed100yrGranny, calling for her release.
The old woman was jailed on March 10 for failing to implement a court order requiring her to give away two hectares (just under five acres) of land to an individual who filed a claim that she had illegally taken the plot.
After spending nine days in jail, a Nairobi county senator, Mike Sonko, paid a bail of 100,000 shillings (just over $1,000) to secure the release of the elderly woman, who was able to leave the prison on Thursday, said the Daily Nation newspaper.
The Sonko Rescue Team, a group of volunteers who work under the senator for community service in Nairobi, will perform a complete medical checkup on the woman to ensure that she is stable.
Imprisoning a woman of her age was described as “immoral” and “embarrassing” by many Kenyans on various Twitter accounts.
Meanwhile, an Embu county senator, Lenny Kivuti, announced that he would donate another 100,000 shillings (about $1,000) to the elderly woman.
