The ruling that left the country in disbelief and revealed serious weak points in the high-security prison estates in Kenya, the three wardens of the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison have been found guilty of helping the escape of the terrorist inmates in a well-planned jailbreak of 2021.
The convictions were obtained by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) at the Kahawa Law Courts following a drawn-out trial that has raised concerns about internal collusion at one of the country’s most secure prison facilities.
Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa said the escape was “clearly well-planned and must have taken a considerable amount of time to execute,” and ruled that it was the wardens’ negligence and complicity that had made it possible to carry out the escape.
The guilty officers—Robert Kipkirui Soi, Kaikai Talengo Moses, and Willy Wambua—were found guilty of neglect of official duty, bringing about the escape of prisoners from custody, and holding meetings to support a terrorist group, as per the confirmation of the ODPP in a formal statement.
The evidence that was put up by the main prosecution counsels James Machirah and Kennedy Amwayi, and was backed by the testimonies from 14 witnesses, readily and conclusively joined the officers to the actions which had directly led to the escape of several high-risk inmates from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in November 2021.
The escape, which took the nations by surprise and led to massive manhunt, involved convicts of terrorism who had long sentences for their serious offenses including major terror incidents.
The extent of their breaking out from a place which was counted as one of the most fortified in Kenya, raised, consequently, urgent questions about security protocols in prisons and internal oversight.
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