100-year-old woman goes to jail

A 100-year-old woman was jailed in the central Kenyan town of Embu, for a three-month sentence for illegal appropriation of land.

This sparked off a campaign on social media platforms calling for her release, as hundreds of users from social networks showed their solidarity with the campaign by sharing the hashtag, #SaveJailed100yrGranny.

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.