The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo deepens after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) failed to produce him in court on Tuesday, alive or dead.
The High Court in Nakuru had last Friday ordered the police and KWS to produce Odhiambo before the court, following a petition filed by the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU).
However, when they appeared before Justice Julius Nangea, Nakuru East DCI boss Samuel Ngeiywa and KWS officials claimed they were unable to comply with the directive.
Teachers carry a student from Kimathi Secondary School, Nakuru, after police lobbed teargas canisters at protesters near the school on January 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
While the DCI team said they could not produce him since he was not booked in any police station, the KWS team threw another spanner in the works: They admitted to arresting a fisherman who had encroached on Lake Nakuru National Park but claimed he escaped before being processed, and they could not confirm whether it was Mr Odhiambo.
The 31-year-old local fisherman was reportedly arrested by KWS officers for allegedly trespassing into the protected park.
Missing fisherman: Angry residents torch part of Lake Nakuru National Park
The rangers traced him to his residence in Manyani Estate on January 18, arrested him, and he has not been seen since.
His disappearance led to four consecutive days of protests in Nakuru City, with residents demanding answers and human rights activists questioning the brutality of KWS officers in other cases.
According to Nakuru East DCI boss Samuel Ngeiywa, the DCI was unable to produce him in court since he was not booked in any police station, as he disappeared while in the custody of KWS officers.
"Brian Odhiambo was not booked in any police station, and we have not been able to trace him. When he went missing, he was in the hands of KWS officers at Lake Nakuru National Park. I am also not aware of the allegations that he was beaten and assaulted before he went missing,” reads part of an affidavit by Mr Ngeiywa filed in court.
Kenya Wildlife Service officers put out fire at Lake Nakuru National Park on January 23, 2025 after protesters set the park on fire demanding release of Brian Odhiambo.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
In his affidavit, the sub-county DCI boss noted that despite communication about the missing person being circulated, no tangible information has been received to date on the fisherman’s whereabouts.
Whereas Mr Ngeiywa honoured the summons and appeared in court on Tuesday, his KWS counterpart, David Odul Oyugi, was represented by his lawyer, who attended court virtually.
KWS, in response to the petition filed by IMLU and Odhiambo's mother, Elizabeth Auma, stated that the suspect escaped before he could be processed and that his particulars are unknown to them.
According to Abdulrahman Ali Sudi, an officer who was driving the KWS vehicle during the patrol when Odhiambo was arrested, the KWS team apprehended one suspect conducting illegal fishing in the sewage area within Lake Nakuru National Park, but he escaped before being processed.
"The suspect requested to relieve himself, only for him to escape into the bush. Our efforts to re-arrest him were futile as he disappeared into the bushes,” revealed Ali.
KWS confirmed in court documents that the officers indeed arrested a person whom they had not taken in for processing when he escaped.
KWS claims that because they did not take the suspect’s details, they are unaware of whether the person who escaped was Brian Odhiambo.
The Nation has, however, established that six KWS officers who arrested the suspect believed to be Odhiambo have been grilled by DCI detectives and recorded statements.
Family members and several witnesses have also recorded statements aiding detectives in the investigations.
"The six officers were arrested and placed at Nakuru Police Station for the offense of abduction to commit murder but were later released the same day pending investigation and advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The six were among 13 officers who were manning the park and have recorded statements,” revealed Mr Ngeiywa.
He added: “The suspect disappeared within Lake Nakuru National Park while in the custody of KWS, and efforts to find his whereabouts are still ongoing. An identification parade was conducted early this week, and we shall provide the necessary information if required.”
The KWS officers who have recorded statements include Francis Wachira, Abdulrahman Sudi, Isaac Ochieng, Evans Kimaiyo, Michael Wabukala, and Alexander Lorogoi.
The DCI has also written two letters to Safaricom and Airtel, requesting data on the numbers registered under the name of Brian Odhiambo, but the report is yet to be provided.
"The location of Odhiambo's registered mobile phones was technologically traced and found to have been switched off on January 18, within Nakuru State House and Karunga area, between 13:51 hrs and 16:07 hrs," revealed a senior DCI officer privy to the investigations.
The Nakuru Court will give further directions on the matter filed by IMLU, demanding that he be produced in court.
The petitioners’ lawyers, led by Abuya Mogendi, sought more time to review the affidavits filed by the DCI and KWS before responding.
IMLU moved to court seeking orders compelling the agencies to produce Mr Odhiambo or his body and to offer adequate compensation for the loss of a family’s breadwinner.
Odhiambo’s disappearance last week triggered unprecedented protests, with angry youth storming Lake Nakuru National Park, blocking the road leading to the park while demanding to know his whereabouts.
The crowds lit bonfires and placed stones on the road, blocking access to the park, which attracts hundreds of tourists daily.
The protests, which drew the attention of multiple stakeholders, saw civil society groups take on government agencies over the excessive use of force.
