A magistrate at Kahawa Law Courts found the officers guilty of helping convicted terrorists flee the prison facility in November 2021.
The court heard that the jailbreak was not a spontaneous act of desperation but a well-planned and aided operation that could not have happened without inside help.
The officers were convicted of neglect of official duty, aiding prisoners’ escape, and organising a meeting in support of a terrorist group.
They were charged following investigations by the police and prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). Prosecutors argued that the prison officers failed to notice the convicts’ activities despite the escape point being covered by CCTV cameras.
Prosecutors told the court that the three abused their positions to aid the escape of Musharaf Abdalla (also known by several aliases), Mohamed Ali Abikar, and Joseph Juma Odhiambo.
The three inmates were serving sentences of 42, 22, and 15 years, respectively, for terrorism-related offenses, including involvement in the brutal 2015 Garissa University attack that killed 148 people.
According to the judgment, the escape occurred between the night of November 14 and the morning of November 15, 2021, inside Kamiti Maximum Security Prison—a facility designed to hold Kenya’s most dangerous offenders.
“The operation was clearly well-planned and must have taken a considerable amount of time to execute,” the court observed, a finding that pointed directly to collusion by prison staff.
The court ruled that two of the officers willfully neglected their official duty and failed to prevent the escape. The third officer was found guilty of aiding a prison escape and organizing a meeting in support of a terrorist group.
Prosecutors proved that he facilitated the movement of an inmate within the condemned block, allowing terror convicts to meet and coordinate.
The offenses were committed in violation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (2012). Fourteen witnesses, including prison officials, investigators, and forensic officers, testified for the prosecution. The court ruled that their evidence proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
The escape triggered a national security alert. At the time, police and intelligence agencies warned that the fugitives posed a serious threat to public safety.
Within days, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the immediate dismissal of then-Prisons Commissioner-General Wycliffe Ogallo after investigations uncovered serious security lapses and possible complicity among officers.
The terror inmates had dug their way out of the correctional facility, removed bricks, and fashioned makeshift ropes from blankets and broomsticks to scale the prison wall.
Their escape prompted a massive manhunt that lasted several days before they were captured along Kitui/Tana River boarder, far from Nairobi. Police briefings later linked the escapees to extremist networks.
The case will return to court on January 20, 2026, when the three officers will face sentencing.
