Nairobi — The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has secured the conviction of three Kamiti Maximum Prison officers for their role in the 2021 escape of convicted terrorists.
Delivering his judgment at Kahawa Law Court, Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa described the escape as well-planned and highly coordinated, emphasizing the gravity of the officers' misconduct.
The convicted officers, Robert Kipkirui Soi, Kaikai Talengo Moses, and Willy Wambua, were found guilty of multiple offences including neglect of official duty, aiding prisoner escape and organizing a meeting in support of a terrorist group.
Prosecution counsels James Machirah and Kennedy Amwayi called 14 witnesses who testified that the officers facilitated the escape of Musharaf Abdala (alias Shukri, Sharif, Alex Shikanda, Rashid Swaitar), Mohamed Ali Abikar, and Joseph Juma Odhiambo between the night of November 14, 2021, and the morning of November 15, 2021, at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in Kasarani, Nairobi.
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The escapees were serving sentences for terrorism-related offences.
Soi and Talengo, both Kenya Prisons Service officers, were found to have willfully neglected their duties, allowing the inmates to escape.
Wambua was convicted of aiding the escape and organizing a meeting between convicted terror inmates, including facilitating the movement of Abdul Majid Yassin between cells in violation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 20, 2026.
The three inmates had allegedly planned the escape for 12 months.
On November 15, 2021, they dug a hole in their cell, constructed a makeshift ladder from ropes, clothes, broomsticks, and sheets, and scaled the prison wall. Yassin, their cellmate, was unable to escape due to a disability.
Following the breakout, then-Prisons Commissioner-General Wycliffe Ogallo and other wardens on duty were arrested.
The escapees remained at large for less than a week before being recaptured in Endau village, approximately 100 kilometres from Kitui town.
Police said they were caught after one of the escapees went to buy water, bread, and milk, arousing suspicion among locals when asking for directions to Tana River, Garissa, and Lamu counties, areas linked to Al-Shabaab terror cells.
