The Director of Public Prosecutions has secured the conviction of three officers attached to GK Kamiti Maximum Security Prison for helping convicted terrorists escape in November 2021, in a case that has laid bare serious security failures within Kenya’s prison system.
Delivering his judgment at the Kahawa Law Courts, Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa found that the escape was clearly well-planned and could not have occurred without internal facilitation, noting that the operation must have taken a considerable amount of time to execute.
The convicted officers — Robert Kipkirui Soi, Kaikai Talengo Moses, and Willy Wambua — were found guilty of neglect of official duty, aiding the escape of prisoners, and organizing meetings in support of a terrorist group.
Principal Prosecution Counsels James Machirah and Kennedy Amwayi called 14 prosecution witnesses, successfully proving beyond reasonable doubt that the officers aided the escape of Musharaf Abdala (also known by multiple aliases including Shukri, Sharif, Alex Shikanda and Rashid Swaitar), Mohamed Ali Abikar, and Joseph Juma Odhiambo on the night of 14 November 2021 and the morning of 15 November 2021 at GK Kamiti Maximum Security Prison in Kasarani Sub-County, Nairobi City County.
The court heard that the escaped inmates were serving sentences for terrorism-related offences, elevating the incident into a major national security concern.
Magistrate Ombewa ruled that Soi and Talengo, while serving as officers of the Kenya Prisons Service, wilfully neglected their official duty by failing to prevent the escape of the convicted terrorists, despite being responsible for their lawful custody.
Willy Wambua was separately convicted of aiding a prison escape and organizing a meeting in support of a terrorist group.
The prosecution proved that on or before 15 November 2021, Wambua directly or indirectly facilitated the escape of the terror convicts and unlawfully organized a meeting involving four convicted terror inmates at Condemned Block “A”, Cell No. 6. This included facilitating the movement of Abdul Majid Yassin from Cell No. 2 to Cell No. 6, in violation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2012.
The case is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on 20 January 2026, when the court will determine the penalties to be imposed on the convicted officers, a decision expected to further reinforce accountability within Kenya’s security and justice system.
