A prison officer who had an inappropriate relationship with an inmate has been jailed for eight months. Jahvine Kwamba, 21, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to two counts of misconduct in a public office. The offences occurred while she was working at HMP Fosse Way in Leicestershire.
Relationship with inmate
Kwamba began a relationship with prisoner Roberts Sokolovs, who styled himself as the “Latvian Pablo Escobar”, in February 2024. Sokolovs was imprisoned in 2022 for drug-related matters due to his involvement in a county lines drug ring called the Jimmy Line, between Skelmersdale in Lancashire and Lincoln.
Leicester Crown Court heard that sexually explicit photographs and messages were sent between the pair on Snapchat after Sokolovs was transferred to an immigration removal centre at Gatwick Airport in June 2024. Sokolovs was deported to Latvia in November 2024 and never interviewed about the relationship.
Contact and payments
While at HMP Fosse Way, there were 5,441 contacts between them on Snapchat, and 4,211 contacts while Sokolovs was at the removal centre. Kwamba denies any physical sexual contact, but the prosecution is “sceptical” about this.
Kwamba received five payments from Sokolovs's mother, Zita Sokolova, 53, totalling £1,495 between March 18 and July 2, 2024. She also received 18 payments totalling £4,665 from his sister, Venera Sokolova, 20, during the same period. Kwamba sent seven payments totalling £660 to his sister between March 27 and July 1, 2024.
Defence and sentencing
Sam Ponniah, defending Kwamba, said she had shown “significant levels of naivety and immaturity” and had been “well in over her head” when put in charge of 64 prisoners despite being a prison officer for around four months. He said she has “real and substantiated remorse” and now works at a car rental company.
Zita Sokolova was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for one year and ordered to pay £400 costs. Venera Sokolova was given a 12-month community order with a requirement to attend 15 probation appointments. Both had previously pleaded guilty to transmitting an image by electronic communications from inside HMP Fosse Way.
Judge Timothy Spencer KC said the case “strikes at the heart of any functioning criminal justice system”. He told Kwamba she had exposed herself to risk of blackmail and coercion, and suspected she was “pretty lonely and vulnerable”. He added: “You were easy prey and easy pickings for Roberts, who obviously decided he could exploit you.”
