Editor's Review

  • Reports indicate that it is highly likely that the three had planned their escape for months and were working with insiders at the prison.

New details have emerged indicating how three convicted terror suspects escaped from the tightly guarded Kamiti Maximum Prison.

According to a report by Citizen TV, it is highly likely that the three had planned their escape for months and were working with insiders at the prison.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the trio; Musharraf Abdalla Akhulunga a.k.a Zarkarawi, Mohammed Ali Abikar, and Joseph Juma Odhiambo a.k.a Yusuf drilled a hole through their cell which they used to escape.

The hole was created by dislodging a brick from the wall. In a bid to avoid any suspicion, the three reportedly used a cardboard to cover the hole they had drilled.

The three are also reported to have used blanket strings and broom sticks to create a make-shift rope which they used to climb and jump over two high walls at the maximum security prison.


Prison wardens at the Kamiti Maximum Prison. [Photo: Courtesy]

Questions have now arisen as to how the three managed to climb and jump over the wall without being noticed, yet Kamiti is one of the most guarded correctional facilities in Kenya.

It is such loopholes that have prompted investigators to believe that the three could have been working with guards from inside the facility.

Meanwhile, seven prison warders have been arrested following the escape of three terror suspects.

In a statement on Tuesday, Interior CS Dr Fred Matiang’i noted that a visit to the prison, specifically Block A6 where the alleged escape happened, did not confirm what had been reported by the prison’s management.

He said a manhunt has been launched for the three terror suspects and anyone else who may have aided their escape.

“We will not only go the direction investigations will point us, but we will act resolutely to ensure this kind of recklessness does not happen again because it exposes our people. Definitely there is a certain level of irresponsibility we have to deal with in this particular case.

 “We have gone to the place where the escape allegedly happened and we have formed certain opinions. We don’t want to discuss that because we don’t want to interfere with the work that the DCI is doing,” Matiang’i’s statement read in part.

He urged anyone who may have information to share the same with the relevant authorities, adding that the suspects are dangerous and pose a threat to national security.