The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has secured the conviction of three prison officers stationed at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, over their role in aiding the escape of convicted terrorists in November 2021. The case exposed serious security lapses within the country’s most secure correctional facility.
Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa delivered the judgement at the Kahawa Law Courts, ruling that the escape was not accidental but deliberate and carefully executed.
“The escape was clearly well-planned and must have taken a considerable amount of time to execute”, the court noted, stating that such an operation could not have gone through without the involvement of insiders.
The convicted officers, Robert Kipkirui Soi, Kaikai Talengo Moses, and Willy Wambua were found guilty of the offences including neglect of official duty, aiding the escape of prisoners, and organizing meetings in support of a terrorist group, contrary to the Kenyan law.
Prosecution counsels James Machira and Kennedy Amwayi informed the court about 14 witnesses who testified and proved beyond reasonable doubt that the mentioned officers aided in the escape of Musharaf Abdala, well known by several aliases including Shukri, Sharif, Alex Shikanda and Rashid Swaitar, Mohammed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo.
The three inmates were serving sentences for terrorism-related offences when they escaped Kamiti Maximum Security Prison on the night of November 14, 2021 and the morning of November 15, 2021.
The court found that Soi and Talengo jointly and willfully neglected to prevent the escape of convicted prisoners, despite having a legal obligation to ensure their secure custody.
Wambua was separately convicted of aiding the prison break and organizing a meeting in support of a terrorist group. According to the prosecutors, Wambua facilitated an illegal meeting between four terror convicts at Condemned Block “A” Cell No. 6, by unlawfully moving an inmate, Abdul Majid Yassin from another cell, violating the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.
The 2021 escape led to security alert across the country, with the fugitives later rearrested while attempting to escape from the country.
The case is now set for sentencing on January 20, 2026, when the court will determine the punishment for the convicted officers.
