- DCI has issued a Sh60 million bounty on the three missing men even as Matiangí said no need to panic
- The three were cell mates of another wanted terrorist Elgiva Bwire
Authorities believe the escape of the three convicts who were serving jail terms for terrorism-related crimes was aided by wardens.
Seven wardens were Monday arrested over the “escape” and officials said there could be more arrests.
The three were being held at Block A, which holds some of the most dreaded criminals.
It is not possible to stage an escape from the block unless one is aided, officials who have been there said.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said preliminary investigations suggested the escape from arguably the most secured maximum prison facility in the country was abetted by laxity and incompetence.
Matiang’i, who led a senior security team to Kamiti prison Monday evening, further announced a massive manhunt involving specialised teams.
The escapees are: Musharraf Abdalla Akhulunga alia Zarkarawi, Mohammed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo alia Yusuf.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has placed Sh60 million bounty on their head.
The three “escaped” Sunday night at about 1 am, prison authorities said.
“We will not only go the direction investigations will point us but we will act resolutely to ensure this kind of recklessness does not happen again because it exposes our people," Matiang'i said.
"Definitely, there is a certain level of irresponsibility we have to deal with in this particular case.”
Whereas prison authorities said the three escaped by removing part of the wall to their cell block, a visit to the scene suggested it was not possible.
The cell is one of the most guarded with a watchtower that is manned 24 hours a day. It has two layers of walls.
This suggests the three men may have been aided to leave the facility. Police said they are now focusing on the wardens’ activities before and after the said “escape”.
He said more arrests and prosecutions will follow after the DCI moved in to investigate the prison break.
The CS was flanked by principal secretaries Karanja Kibicho (Interior), Zeynab Mohammed (Correctional Services), the Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai, DCI boss George Kinoti and Commissioner General of Police Wycliffe Ogallo.
He said that their extensive tour of Kamiti, including Block A 6, where the trio had been held, did not appear to support the official version of escape given by the prisons managers.
“We have gone to the place where the escape allegedly happened, and we have formed certain opinions. We don’t want to discuss that because we don’t want to interfere with the work that the DCI is doing,” he said.
Matiang’i said the government will protect whistleblowers who will volunteer information that could lead to the re-arresting of the prisoners.
The prisoners are described as dangerous, with the manhunt teams especially paying attention to the country’s borders and exit points.
The CS however urged Kenyans not to panic over the latest mysterious escape of dangerous prisoners, saying security teams were on high alert and had managed to pre-empt many of the planned terror attacks.
Abikar was charged and convicted in 2019 over his links to al-Shabaab and for abetting the Garissa University attack of April 2015 that left 148 people dead.
Odhiambo was arrested in 2019 for trying to join the Somali terror group while Akhulunga was arrested in 2012 over a foiled attack on Kenya’s Parliament.
He was later charged with possessing explosives, ammunition and firearms.
Meanwhile, officials are concerned with the rate of radicalisation in prison facilities, which they link to the “escape” of the three convicts.
This comes in the wake of ramped up operations over terror fears in the country.
Police say they are also looking for an ex-terror convict, Elgiva Bwire, who is missing since October 28 when he was released from Kamiti. He was a cellmate of the three men.
Police claimed they had received reports Elgiva promised his former friends that he will stage an attack to free them immediately after being released.
It is understood that Elgiva, while serving his prison term, maintained close contacts with radicalisation cells both in Kenya and Somalia, and was actively seeking to recruit unsuspecting Kenyan youth in violent extremism and other terror-related activities.
Police said they suspect he rejoined a terror cell, which he was in contact with, while at Kamiti Prison.
Prisons authorities are now concerned with the level of ongoing radicalisation even among convicts.
The authorities received a handbook that will help manage the crisis among prisoners following report showing penal institutions had become breeding grounds for violent extremists.
The report detailed the risk assessment tools for prison managers and best approaches to housing violent extremists and how to manage them without infringing on their rights.
It calls for demilitarisation of the handling of such offenders, saying they are key sources of intelligence.
“Separation may elevate their status in the eyes of other prisoners or groups in the prison population, which plays into the narrative of radicalisers, who either feel special or persecuted,” the report said.
Yesterday, Kinoti and team of detectives visited Kamiti for the second time as investigators went on with their work.
He inspected the cell where the convicts were being held and interrogated some of the officers there before leaving.
The seven wardens were taken to DCI headquarters where they spent the better part of the day being grilled over the said escape.
“We will get to the bottom of the matter and ensure those involved are answerable to all what happened,” Kinoti said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)