Escapees airlifted back to Kamiti
The chopper carrying three terror convicts lands at Kamiti Maximum Prison on November 18, 2021.
Three terror convicts, who escaped from the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison over the weekend, are now back in jail.
The trio was on Thursday afternoon airlifted back to Kamiti, coming just hours after arrest in a remote village in Kitui County.
The three terror convicts who escaped from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison after they were arrested in Kitui County on November 18, 2021.
Police said they were fleeing towards Boni Forest which borders Somalia when they were cornered by security agents, hours after residents reported seeing them in Malalani market in Endau location, some 100 kilometres East of Kitui town.
After their capture, security authorities briefly held them at Mwingi Police Station awaiting airlift to Nairobi.
Heavy security at Mwingi Police Station where the three terror convicts were held after their capture.
The terror convicts were whisked away from the station to the anti-terror police training college in Kanyonyoo, Kitui, by road under heavy security.
From here, they were flown to Kamiti prison in Kiambu County.
In Kiambu, Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang'i and Joe Mucheru, new Kenya Prison Service boss Brigadier (Rtd) John Warioba and other security officials were inside the Kamiti prison block.
Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang'i (centre) and Joe Mucheru (left) at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison on November 18, 2021.
The situation at Kamiti Maximum Prison on November 18, 2021. Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang'i and Joe Mucheru, new Kenya Prison Service boss Brigadier (Rtd) John Warioba and other security officials were present.
Sh60 million bounty
When they were spotted in Kitui earlier today, panic gripped the sleepy shopping centre in Malalani as shopkeepers, who wanted to arrest the fugitives and cash in on the Sh60 million bounty on their heads, feared that the terrorists were armed.
Malalani borders the Mwingi Game Reserve to the north and South Kitui Game Reserve to the south and has for long been a hideout for terror suspects.
The trio was hiding during the day and trekked under the cover of darkness to avoid being caught.
The three terror convicts who escaped from the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison after they were arrested in Kitui County on November 18, 2021.
After the locals informed the police, a massive manhunt was immediately launched with all security agencies in the region including chiefs and their assistants put on high alert to comb the villages and prevent the terrorists from escaping to hideouts outside the country.
Security sources confided to the Nation that the entire county was surrounded by officers drawn from the anti-terror police unit, backed up by personnel from the anti-stock theft unit.
Kitui County Police Commander Leah Kithei said the three were arrested in Mwingemi area as they tried to find their way to the Mwingi-Garissa highway.
Residents said they got suspicious when the trio asked for directions connecting to Garissa and Boni Forest in Lamu.
One of the escapees had swollen legs and was limping, a local said.
The terrorists, Musharraf Abdalla Akhulunga alias Zarkarawi, Mohammed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo alias Yusuf escaped from the country's most guarded prison on Sunday.
A Sh60 million bounty was placed on their heads for information leading to their arrest.
Terror attacks
Musharaf was arrested on September 30, 2012 over his role in a foiled terror attack targeting Parliament Buildings.
He was charged with possession of explosives, ammunition and firearms. He hails from Ekero area in Mumias, Kakamega County.
Mohamed, an Islamist militant who was arrested following his involvement in the April 2, 2015 Garissa University attack, was serving a 41-year sentence.
He had been convicted alongside Hassan Edin Hassan and Tanzania’s Rashid Charles Mberesero, who was sentenced to life but committed suicide in November last year inside Kamiti
