Telio Group has signed an agreement with Kenya’s State Department for Correctional Services (SDCS) to provide secure offender telephone services. The rollout will begin at four facilities, with the wider deployment intended to serve a prison population of approximately 60,000 people across Kenya.

The agreement was signed in Nairobi on 8 July 2026 by Dr. Salome M. Beacco, CBS, Principal Secretary of the State Department for Correctional Services, Ministry of Interior and National Administration, and Oliver Drews, CEO of Telio Group.

The new communication infrastructure forms part of Kenya’s wider digital transformation and institutional modernization of correctional services. It is designed to provide people in custody with secure access to family contact and legal representation, while giving correctional authorities a legal and controlled alternative to unauthorized mobile phone use.

From Signing to Implementation

The first phase will cover four facilities: Nairobi Remand and Allocation Maximum Security Prison, Lang’ata Women Maximum Security Prison, Nairobi Probation Hostel and Nakuru Girls Probation Hostel.

Telio will provide the hardware and software, locally hosted data infrastructure and staff training. Technical teams from Telio, the Kenya Prisons Service and the Probation and Aftercare Service will work through the operational requirements, with site visits informing the implementation plan.

Voice communication will be outbound-only. SDCS will determine access rights and how communication can be used within the system, including different permissions for different categories of people in custody. Activity within the system will be logged.

The underlying technology also provides a basis for additional communication services in the future, including secure video calling and messaging.

The new communication infrastructure is part of a broader modernization effort. Digitalization is one of the strategic goals set out by SDCS. Its wider reform agenda also emphasizes safe custody, rehabilitation, reintegration and the effective administration of justice.

“The best systems are not copied from one country to another. They are built around local realities. We bring our experience – and we build from there together.”

— Oliver Drews, CEO of Telio Group

Telio is trusted by correctional authorities in more than 20 countries worldwide.