KWS ranger Alex Lorongoi takes the oath before testifying at the Nakuru Law Courts on June 8, 2026. He is among the six rangers facing charges related to the alleged abduction and disappearance of local fisherman Brian Odhiambo.
After successfully completing six months of paramilitary training at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)'s Law Enforcement Academy in Manyani, Alexander Lorogoi considered himself lucky when he was deployed to Lake Nakuru National Park in December 2024.
Excited and ready to begin the next chapter of his life as a KWS ranger, he believed everything was finally falling into place. But barely a month into his new posting, tragedy struck.
On January 18, 2025, Lorogoi found himself at the centre of a storm following the disappearance of Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo, a case that sparked public outrage and violent protests and put the young ranger's conduct under intense scrutiny.
He had not even earned his first salary before he was placed under investigation.
The six KWS rangers accused of the abduction and disappearance of local fisherman Brian Odhiambo appear before a Nakuru court on June 8, 2026.
What followed was his arrest, interdiction and a long journey through the justice system as investigators sought to unravel the mystery surrounding the fisherman's disappearance.
For more than a year, Lorogoi has been making regular trips to the Nakuru Law Courts alongside five of his colleagues, who are jointly charged with abducting Mr Odhiambo on January 18, 2025, at Lake Nakuru National Park.
After months of attending court sessions and enduring negative publicity, the young ranger had become accustomed to the rigours of trial proceedings.
What, however, rekindled his fears was the court's decision on March 3 that he and his co-accused had a case to answer and would therefore be placed on their defence.
Lorogoi was the first to take the witness stand.
When he appeared before the trial magistrate, he looked shaken, perhaps uncertain whether his testimony would be enough to prove his innocence.
Suspension from work
Still, he was determined to tell his side of the story and challenge the prosecution's account, which has consistently linked him and his colleagues to Mr Odhiambo's disappearance.
He introduced himself as a KWS ranger who was employed on December 3, 2024and had worked for only three weeks by the time the fisherman disappeared.
“I have been at KWS for one and a half years, but I have been under suspension after I was charged in court over the disappearance of Mr Odhiambo,” Lorogoi told the court.
Recounting the events of the day, he said that at around 10am, his superior, Senior Sergeant Paul Wachira, who was being driven by Gedion Chemirmir, arrived at their quarters and instructed him and four colleagues Gordon Lwal, Isaac Ochieng, Evans Kimaiyo and Michael Wabukala to join him on an operation.
They later picked up four other rangers before heading to an area known as Vietnam inside the park to crack down on illegal fishing activities.
However, when they reached a place called Sewage, they spotted a man running in the opposite direction while being pursued by another KWS Land Cruiser.
“We jumped out of our vehicle and went after the suspect. Upon crossing a bridge, I ordered him to stop. Ochieng caught up with him and conducted a search” Lorogoi testified.
The court heard that the suspect was tied with a rope and bundled into a Land Cruiser.
According to Lorogoi, the man was dark-complexioned and dressed in dirty black clothes. He said the man did not resemble the person he later saw in media reports identified as Brian Odhiambo.
Elizabeth Auma, mother of local fisherman Brian Odhiambo, holds his portrait at the Nakuru Law Court on June 8, 2026, as six Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers accused of his abduction and disappearance begin testifying before a Nakuru court.
The officers then drove to an area known as Bridge, where the suspect was transferred to another vehicle driven by a man identified only as Sudi. The rangers who had been in Sudi's Land Cruiser moved into their vehicle and proceeded to Vietnam.
“That was the last time I saw the suspect. He was in good health and fully conscious,” Lorogoi said.
His testimony, however, contradicted that of prosecution witnesses, who alleged that the rangers severely assaulted the suspect before throwing his unconscious body into the Land Cruiser.
Lawyers representing the family and the Law Society of Kenya, led by Kipkoech Ng'etich, also questioned the ranger on why the suspect was never taken to the station and formally booked.
Ranger Isaac Ochieng, who testified after Lorogoi, said he personally searched the suspect after he obeyed the order to stop.
“He was running, but when my colleague ordered him to stop, he complied. I searched him and informed him that he had trespassed, and we took him in,” Ochieng testified.
However, Ochieng was put on the spot over allegations that he had attempted to interfere with the case by contacting Odhiambo's family and demanding money before the hearing began last year.
Through lawyer Kipkoech Ng'etich, the family further alleged that Ochieng had informed them that Odhiambo had been killed inside the park.
“The family tells me that you even sent them text messages demanding money in exchange for leading them to Odhiambo's body. Is that true?: Ng'etich asked.
Ochieng denied the allegations, including claims that he knew where the body had been buried.
Brian Odhiambo disappeared on January 18, 2025, in the Manyani area of Nakuru after allegedly being arrested by KWS officers for trespassing into Lake Nakuru National Park.
The six officers Francis Wachira, Alexander Lorogoi, Isaac Ochieng, Michael Wabukala, Evans Kimaiyo and Abdurahman Ali were first arraigned on May 5, 2025, and charged with abducting Mr Odhiambo with intent to confine him at an unknown place.
They denied the charges and were each released on a Sh300,000 bond or an alternative cash bail of Sh100,000 before the case proceeded to trial.
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