The Director of Public Prosecutions has secured the conviction of three officers from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for aiding the escape of terrorist inmates in 2021.
Delivering his judgment at the Kahawa Law Courts, Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa observed that the prison break was clearly well planned and must have taken a considerable amount of time to execute.
Robert Kipkirui Soi, Kaikai Talengo Moses, and Willy Wambua were found guilty of neglect of official duty, aiding the escape of prisoners, and organizing a meeting in support of a terrorist group.
Principal Prosecution Counsel James Machirah and Kennedy Amwayi called 14 witnesses and proved beyond reasonable doubt that the three officers facilitated the escape of Musharaf Abdala—also known as Shukri, Sharif, Alex Shikanda, and Rashid Swaitar—together with Mohamed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo.
The escape occurred on the night of November 14, 2021, and the morning of November 15, 2021, at GK Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in Kasarani Sub-County, Nairobi City County.
At the time, Abdala, Ali, and Juma were serving sentences for terrorism-related offences.
The court found that on the night of November 14 and the morning of November 15, 2021, Soi and Talengo, while serving as Kenya Prisons Service officers, jointly and wilfully neglected their duty by failing to prevent the escape of the convicted prisoners.
Wambua was separately convicted of aiding the prison escape and organizing a meeting in support of a terrorist group.
The prosecution proved that on or before November 15, 2021, at GK Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, he directly and/or indirectly facilitated the escape of convicted terror inmates who were in lawful custody.
He was also found to have organized a meeting between four convicted terror suspects at Condemned Block “A,” Cell No. 6, by facilitating the movement of Abdul Majid Yassin from Cell No. 2 to Cell No. 6, in contravention of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.
The matter is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on January 20, 2026.
