A testimony by a witness further exposed what appeared to be a scheme by the officers to cover up the status of Mr Odhiambo at the time.
The witness, Denis Juma, who is currently serving a jail term after being convicted of illegal fishing at Lake Nakuru, is one of the few people who witnessed the last moments that could have determined the fisherman’s fate.
Testifying virtually from Nakuru GK Prison, Mr Juma told the court he saw Mr Odhiambo lying unconscious in a KWS Land Cruiser at the time officers discovered he was unresponsive.
A portrait of Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo who disappeared on January 18, 2025 after being arrested by KWS officers at Lake Nakuru National Park.
Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group
According to the witness, the officers conspired to drive the vehicle away from the vicinity into the bush before transferring Odhiambo onto another Land Cruiser. Juma and his colleagues, who had also been arrested at the lake, were intimidated into silence.
Being among those who witnessed the incident, Juma was later booked at Bondeni Police Station and prosecuted in court. He was convicted in March and jailed, before being transferred to Nyandarua Prison under unclear circumstances, which complicated his availability as a witness.
In his testimony before Principal Magistrate Kipkurui Kibelion, Juma recounted the events of February 18, 2025, which later sparked violent protests that disrupted operations at Lake Nakuru National Park as residents demanded Odhiambo’s release.
Juma narrated that he and 10 other men had been arrested by KWS officers while fishing illegally inside the park near an area known as Vietnam. They were forced to lie on the ground as they awaited transportation to KWS offices and later to Bondeni Police Station.
At that moment, a green Land Cruiser arrived with one man lying unconscious in the back.
“As the driver identified as Sudi reversed the vehicle towards us, I overheard an officer ordering the person inside to sit properly so there would be space for other suspects,” Juma said.
He added: “I lifted my head and saw the warden trying to move the man, but he was unresponsive. Then I heard one officer whisper to another, saying, "Huyu amekata" (this one is dead). The colleague quickly signalled him to keep quiet.”
The witness said the officers then checked to see if any of the suspects had noticed what was happening and beat those who dared lift their heads.
“One of us was badly beaten and injured on the nose,” Juma testified.
He added that the Land Cruiser carrying Odhiambo was then directed to leave the scene at high speed towards a forested area. That was the last time he saw the fisherman.
Another witness, Alex Maina Njenga, testified that he saw KWS officers arrest Odhiambo and bundle him into a Land Cruiser after brutally beating him.
“After undressing him, the officers rubbed stinging nettle leaves on his body. We pleaded with them to free him, but they refused,” Mr Maina said.
The Nakuru Law Courts.
Photo credit: Joseph Openda | Nation Media Group
In the case, six KWS wardens have been charged with abducting Odhiambo on January 18, 2025, at the Sewage area in Nakuru Town East sub-County.
Earlier testimonies by KFS wardens indicated that Odhiambo had initially been escorted to a Land Cruiser before being moved into another driven by Mr Sudi. The first cruiser then left to carry out a crackdown at the lake, leaving Odhiambo in Sudi’s custody.
During cross-examination, the defense asked Juma why he did not report the incident earlier. He responded that they were too afraid of suffering the same fate as Odhiambo.
