President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday sacked Wycliffe Ogalo as the Commissioner General of the Kenya Prisons Service.
The sacking of Ogalo followed a meeting the President held with top officials at the Interior ministry led by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i over the escape of three terror convicts from Kamiti Maximum Prison. It was revealed the escape was abetted.
Uhuru then appointed and witnessed the swearing-in of Ogalo’s successor, Brigadier (Rtd) John Kibaso Warioba.
Ogalo and two other top officers at Kamiti prisons were arrested from the Magereza building.
Ogalo, alongside the Commandant of Kamiti Prisons Charles Mutembei and his deputy, were taken to DCI headquarters.
Ogalo was bundled onto a waiting police car after the meeting and was driven off. He was heard asking where he was being taken before being pushed into the car and the door banged shut.
Police on their Twitter handle denied arresting Ogalo, saying they facilitated the safe handover of office and they took him to his home.
Ogalo was later released from DCI headquarters unconditionally.
His lawyer Assa Nyakundi, who had earlier in the day termed the arrest “a bit drastic and unnecessary”, said Ogalo was asked to leave without any explanation.
"He has been released unconditionally. He is now free, but I don't know about the others," he said.
On Wednesday evening, Ogalo called a 7pm press conference at his Lang'ata house but later cancelled it.
According to a statement from State House, the head of state made the decision on the back of a briefing from the ministry responsible for correctional services regarding the Kamiti Maximum Security Prison escape.
“The briefing noted the compelling public interest in the matter and the need to entrench accountability in the ranks of the leadership of all security organs; in honour of the many Kenyans who have lost their lives and the enormous sacrifices made by all Kenyans and particularly the security organs to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat terror networks,” the statement read.
Uhuru also directed CS Matiang’i to spare no resources in pursuing and capturing the Kamiti escapees.
He urged all state investigative agencies to bring every person found to have been involved in the prison break to full account.
The President directed the State Department of Correctional Services to begin disciplinary action against all prisons staff who were on duty when the security breach occurred, this includes redeployment and/or immediate suspension of those found culpable.
“The head of state and government has urged all Kenyans to volunteer any information that will lead to the tracing and arrest of the three escapees. He also thanked all our security personnel for their tireless and heroic work in law enforcement and counterterrorism,” the statement said.
It said the President urged all Kenyans to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to security agencies. “We all have a shared duty to defend and protect our freedoms and way of life that is at risk with the rising threats of terror within the region.”
Ogalo is a former long-serving provincial administrator and has been in office for two years now.
He succeeded Isaiah Osugo, who is credited with a number of reforms at the agency.
Nine wardens at Kamiti Maximum Prison are in police custody following the escape of three convicts who were serving jail terms for terrorism-related crimes.
Musharraf Abdalla Akhulunga aka Zarkarawi, Mohammed Ali Abikar and Joseph Juma Odhiambo aka Yusuf escaped even as the DCI placed Sh60 million bounty on their recapture.
Abikar was charged and convicted in 2019 over his links to al Shabaab and for abetting the Garissa University attack in April 2015 that left 148 people dead. Odhiambo was arrested in 2019 for trying to join the terror group.
Akhulunga was arrested in 2012 over a foiled attack on Kenya’s Parliament and charged with possessing explosives, ammunition and firearms.
The three removed a stone from their cell wall and left a physically challenged cellmate before escaping. They then used ropes to scale two walls.
Matiang'i said preliminary investigations suggested the escape from arguably the most secure maximum prison facility in the country was abetted by laxity and incompetence. He said more arrests and prosecutions would follow.
The CS, who led a senior security team to Kamiti Prison last evening, said a massive manhunt involving specialised teams had been launched to rearrest the convicts.
“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. Definitely, there is a certain level of irresponsibility we have to deal with in this particular case.”
The CS said their extensive tour of Kamiti, including Block A 6 where the trio had been held, did not appear to support the official version of the 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 the government will protect whistleblowers who will volunteer information that could lead to the re-arresting of the prisoners whom are described as dangerous. The manhunt teams are especially paying attention to the country’s borders and exit points.
"We are all mobilised and we have sent messages across the country and all exit and possible movement points out of the country. We are going to conduct a massive manhunt for those three. They are dangerous criminals and we have to get them. We're going to get them," he said.
The CS urged Kenyans not to panic over the latest escape of the prisoners, saying security teams were on high alert and had managed to pre-empt many of the planned terror attacks.
Edited by A.N
